Three Sided Coin
by Redler Red7
Summary: Ever wake up on the wrong side of a bed that wasn't yours? And when you saw the person next to you, did you ever think that maybe it wasn't so bad? Ultimately, that is the question posed to Azusa, Ui, and Jun. Their answers and what they entailed was a completely different matter... [Post-series][Multi-POV][Romance/Humor/Friendship/Drama/Slice of Life] Reviews are appreciated.
1. A New Habit

**A few months ago, I made a little ficlet in** _ **Tea Time Tales**_ **called** _ **"Forgetting Last Night"**_ **where Azusa, Jun, and Ui awoke to find themselves in the same bed. Consider this an expansion of that. Enjoy if you can.**

 **The Second Morning**

It was a curious thing, waking up with someone else on your bed. Even curiouser was if it happened multiple times. And yet, when Azusa awoke that morning met with the serene sleeping face of Ui for the second time she did not feel bemused at all. Instead, ironically more bemusing, she just felt at peace.

Blinking the sleep from out of her eyes, Azusa sat up, stretching and yawning as she did so. She could tell she was in Ui's room. The lilac walls and general layout told her as much - though what little light was filtering through the thick window curtains made the walls look a muted grey.

It must have been pretty early. The clock next to the bed certainly agreed with that sentiment - it said it was just a few minutes before six in the morning.

Once again, Azusa had awoken due to cold. She didn't move much in her sleep so it was quite easy to pull the blanket off of her. As it stood, half of the blanket was wrapped around Ui. The other half was on the floor with Jun sprawled on top of it. It was easy to guess which of the three of them was the most restless sleeper. The thought put a slight smile on Azusa's face.

Azusa sighed and carefully crawled over Ui. It was tricky business but she managed to get to the other side of the bed without rousing her sleeping friend. After that, it was just a simple matter of stepping around Jun and she'd be free to go about her morning routine.

She exited her room and did just that.

 **o0o**

Ui reached the bottom of the stairs and was met with Azusa humming a a tune as she stood at the sink, running water over a small collection of vegetables. The rice cooker was on the table, also quietly humming as it did its work. Similarly, the cutting board was on the counter with a knife set neatly at its side, waiting to be used. Everything was ready.

Ui couldn't help but smile. "I see you've prepared the kitchen for me," she said as she grabbed a second apron from the wall peg.

Azusa shrugged. "No big deal," she said, turning off the faucet and placing the vegetables into a large bowl. "I could have heated a cup of ramen but you'd probably want to cook breakfast regardless. I figured I should probably just do what I could to help."

Ui giggled. "Thank you, Azusa. I can take over from here."

Azusa nodded, untying the apron from her waist. "She's all yours."

 **o0o**

Jun stumbled into the kitchen with a drowsy haze still lingering in her mind. "G'morning," she croaked as she took a seat across the table from the blurry figure she assumed was Azusa.

Azusa chuckled. "You are _not_ a morning person," she noted.

Jun made an garbled moan in agreement. She crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on them. "When's breakfast...?"

"Ui, how long?"

Ui's voice called from a short distance. "I'm just about done here but the rice isn't ready yet. Set the table, Azusa."

Directly in front of Jun, there's was the sound of a chair sliding on the floor as Azusa stood up. "On it."

Rice not ready. That was all Jun needed to know. She closed her eyes and let the world fade away one more.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before Jun was roused once again, this time by the smell of food and the sound of people eating said food. A rush of energy entered her system. Her stomach was demanding that she wake up.

Jun raised her head and clapped her hands weakly. "Thank you for the food," she mumbled. After which, she pulled what she assumed was her plate closer and picked up her spoon. She began shoveling large mouthfuls of rice and omelette into her mouth.

The small part of her mind that was fully conscious could hear Azusa and Ui giggle at the way she was eating but she ignored them. The food was delicious. That was all that mattered.

 **o0o**

Azusa stood at the door, putting on her shoes. "Sorry we ended up staying the night again, Ui."

Ui waved a reassuring hand. "It's fine, it's fine. I enjoyed the company."

Next to Azusa, also putting on her shoes was Jun who snickered. "If it means eating Ui's breakfast, I'd sleep over _every_ night," she muttered with a smirk.

Azusa hummed dryly at her friend's joke "Let's not intrude on Ui's hospitality, shall we?" She opened the door. "Well, we'd best be getting home now. We'll see you at school."

Jun gave a lazy salute. "Yeah. Later, Ui."

"See you soon. Stay safe you two."

With that, the door to the Hirasawa household closed.

 **The Fourth Morning**

As they waited at the train crossing, Azusa couldn't help but wonder why they were sleeping over with such frequency. It _was_ notable that Ui's residence was closer to the school than either Azusa or Jun's but that convenience was far from enough reason - at least it wasn't in Azusa's mind.

A loud yawn snapped Azusa out of her daze right before the train sped past. She turned to Jun who still looked half asleep. "You okay?"

Jun turned to look at Azusa blankly. "S'okay. Just a little sleepy is all."

Azusa glanced to Ui who stood on the opposite side of her. Ui met her eyes and shrugged. "No reason not to believe her. She's probably fine."

Azusa shrugged as well. "Fair enough."

 **o0o**

Azusa sat on the clubroom couch, casually playing a riff of Fuwa Fuwa time on her Mustang. Ui stood at the table, quietly singing along as she poured some tea. Jun was asleep once more, sprawled on the couch next to Azusa.

Jun suddenly stretched, bumping Azusa's side with her head. Azusa stopped playing and frowned in annoyance at Jun. "Ever notice how much Jun moves in her sleep?" she asked Ui offhandedly.

"She _does_ always end up on the floor when we wake up," Ui replied. "You like your tea mild, right?"

Azusa hummed in confirmation as she set her guitar aside. Jun seemed to be snuggling even closer, her head now on Azusa's lap. "I guess you don't want me to play anymore," she grumbled.

"To be fair, you _are_ making a lot of noise while she's trying to sleep. Your tea is ready, by the way. Should I bring it to you?"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll get it."

Azusa gingerly lifted Jun's head off her lap and put a cushion under it. She then stood up and moved to the table.

 **o0o**

Azusa rested her chin on her palm as she waited for homeroom to start. Her teacher seemed to be running late and her classmates were starting to get restless. Already she could see some of them standing up and walking to another table to talk to their friends. Much to Azusa's chagrin, Jun was one of them.

"You think she's coming?" Jun asked, taking a seat on the table next to Azusa's. It was a painfully rude thing to do but, thankfully, the person sitting at said table was animatedly talking to the person behind her.

"Maybe," Azusa answered flatly. "Yesterday, she _did_ seem kind of out of it. Maybe she called in sick?"

In an incredible stroke of luck, their English teacher entered the room and announced that their homeroom teacher _was_ in fact sick. He then declared that first period homeroom was now self-study. With that, he left the class to their devices.

"I guess that answers my question," Jun said with a shrug. "Anyway, about last night..."

Azusa rolled her eyes. "No, Jun, you are not allowed to copy my homework."

Jun clapped her hands in prayer and bowed her head. "C'mon, Azusa. Please?"

"No."

"Sharing is caring, Azusa."

"Then maybe stop always pulling the blanket off of me?"

Jun raised her arms defensively. "Hey, I have no control over that."

"Of course you don't."

Jun stood, pouting. "Fine. I guess I'll ask Ui then. I know _she'll_ help me."

Two tables over, Ui called. "No I won't."

Azusa smirked and Jun winced. "Dammit."

 **The Eighth Morning**

After a certain point, mornings had become routine. Azusa'd wake up first and get everything ready in the kitchen. Azusa waking up would then wake up Ui who'd make breakfast for them. Jun would wake up at around the time breakfast was ready and they'd eat together, after which, Jun would do the dishes. It was quick, clean, and efficient.

It was that realization that caused Azusa to just stop in the middle of eating.

Jun and Ui glanced at each other worriedly. "Yo Azusa. Something wrong?"

"Don't you think it's weird?"

The two slowly backed away. "What's weird?"

" _This!_ " Azusa vaguely gestured to Jun, Ui, and the table between them. "When did the three of us sleeping together become normal?"

Jun shrugged. "I don't know. Probably the same time I stopped being surprised to wake up in someone else's room? I don't really think it's that bad, to be honest."

Azusa shrunk at this statement. "Well, it's not _bad_ , but..." She shifted in her seat. "I don't really know how to feel about this..."

"Hmm." Ui leaned back on her seat, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. "Personally, I'm just glad I have company. It gets terribly lonely sometimes with sis gone."

Azusa and Jun blinked, sufficiently sobered. The two shared a lighthearted chuckle. "I like the company too," Azusa said in agreement. "Ditto," Jun seconded.

They continued their meal in cozy silence

 **o0o**

 **Recently, I became low-key obsessed with Azusa, Jun, and Ui's relationship - especially after the seniors of HTT graduate. I've spent the past two days mulling over a bunch of headcanons I had of them and decided to compile them into an actual story where each individual headcanon can interact with one another. I hope you enjoyed it.  
**


	2. Brought Up Questions

**Second chapter. Prepare for mood whiplash. Enjoy if you can.**

 **The Eleventh Morning**

Nao had composed a new song for Wakaba Girls. That was what the message said. It also said that there was to be a club meeting that morning so Nao could play them the example track she made on the synthesizer. What the message _didn't_ say was how both Nao and Sumire found out about Azusa, Jun, and Ui sleeping together.

Thus, the three of them stood, leaning on the wall while Nao and Sumire sat at the table.

"So when did this start?" Nao asked politely. Her question was met with silence for a time.

Jun spoke first. "Weeell, it sorta started on the day of our first performance."

"The freshman orientation show?"

"No, the one after that. The one where we were the intermission for that big play the theatre club did. Remember?" Both Nao and Sumire nodded in confirmation. "Anyway, you two were there at the party we had afterwards but you guys left pretty early-"

"We left at seven. That's already quite late," Nao pointed out flatly.

Jun raised a hand in surrender. "Fair enough," she said. "But yeah, you left early. Me, Azusa, and Ui continued the party and just kinda stayed up all night? Until early morning?" Jun turned to Ui.

"Close to four in the morning," Ui clarified. "All of us were very sleepy and somehow we ended up sharing a bed. For the record, we shared _my_ bed."

Jun scratched her cheek. "Yeah, we shared her bed. The morning after... well, afternoon... after..." Jun frowned. "Uh..."

Next to Jun, Azusa rolled her eyes. She began speaking. "We woke up after noon and sort of spent the rest of the day at Ui's house. That's not really important. Anyway, we had another sleepover a week later. We don't really have an excuse but we also ended up sharing a bed that time as well."

Jun shrugged. "We started sleeping over regularly so it sorta just became normal for us after a while."

Nao nodded thoughtfully. "Fascinating."

Jun blinked in confusion. She glanced at Azusa and Ui. " _Fascinating?_ " They responded with a look of equal bewilderment.

For the first time in a while, Sumire spoke. "So you sleep together. That is a thing you do," she began. "But... you're not dating." She paused. "You're _not_ dating, right?"

Jun raised her eyebrows and turned to Azusa and Ui. Ui was smiling amicably, as she would, and Azusa kept her face neutral, though she did look mildly unamused. "No, we're not dating," Azusa said tiredly, as if she were expecting the question.

"Does it feel good?" Sumire then asked. "Sleeping together, I mean?"

Jun scratched her cheeks once again. "This is getting really uncomfortable to talk about," she muttered to Azusa.

"Tell me about it," Azusa muttered in reply. "It doesn't feel _bad_ , at the very least."

It was Sumire's turn to nod thoughtfully. "Interesting," she said.

"So... you don't think anything's weird?" Jun asked.

"No," Nao immediately answered. "We just wanted to know." Sumire sounded in agreement.

"Huh. Who'd've thunk?"

"Anyway, are we done here? I'd really like to hear Nao's new song" Azusa moved to take a seat.

"Yes. I'm excited too," Ui said in agreement following suit.

Jun made her way to the table as well, also feeling excited. But some part of her had still not moved on from the previous conversation. It stayed at the back of her mind of a long time...

 **The Twelfth Morning**

Not long ago, they decided to start alternating houses they'd sleep at, if only to make it easier on Ui who was playing the host for all of their previous sleepovers. That being said, it was a surreal feeling to once again wake up to an unfamiliar ceiling.

Jun glanced around and noted not for the first time how small Azusa's room was. It was, by no means, inadequately small - there was plenty of space to move around. However, when compared to Ui's room - or hell, even Jun's own room - Azusa's room just felt just a little bit cramped.

Jun supposed it made sense. Azusa was far from a restless girl and rarely made big sweeping movements. Not to mention Azusa's inherent... smallness. The thought caused Jun to giggle.

A yawn escaped her mouth as she rolled to her side, pulling more of the blanket closer to her. _Azusa and Ui are probably already down stairs,_ she thought. _I wonder what's for breakfast..._

As her thoughts trailed off, she took a deep breath and enjoyed the warmth, the subtle fragrances of Azusa and Ui's shampoo mingling in the fabric of-

Jun went wide eyed and jolted upright. _Was I seriously just...?_ She looked at the grey blanket she was holding, once again confirming that it was in fact Azusa's blanket. She buried her face into her hands. _Oh my god, yes I was..._

 _Those two, huh...? And both of them at the same time...?_ Jun grimaced. _Perfect,_ she thought wryly. _Absolutely perfect._

 **o0o**

"So I've been wondering," Jun began. "Why _aren't_ we dating?"

Azusa nearly choked on the glass of water she was drinking. "Wha-" she began coughing repeatedly.

Both Jun and Ui stood, putting a hand of concern on Azusa. "Easy there, Azusa. Easy."

The coughing eventually stopped and Azusa swatted the hands away. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she managed to say. She turned to Jun seriously. "What did you say?"

"I asked why we're not dating."

"Dating," Azusa repeated weakly. "Like... _boyfriend and girlfriend_ dating?"

"Well, technically, _girlfriend, girlfriend, and girlfriend_ dating, but..." Jun made a vague gesture. "Yeah, pretty much."

Azusa felt lost as she stared confusedly at Jun. "What brought this on?"

Jun scratched her cheek. "Well, that conversation we had with Nao and Sumire about the whole sleeping together thing kinda struck a chord with me, you know?" She then looked away, adding in a mutter, "And I also maybe kinda have a tiny little crush on the two of you?"

Azusa took a moment to parse Jun's mumbled words but, when she did, she could feel the blood rushing to her face. "That's..." She turned to Ui in distress.

Ui was in a similar situation as Jun's confession finally hit her. She was desperately trying to suppress a broad smile as her cheeks went rosy. "I'm flattered, Jun," Ui said. "I don't think I feel the same way, but... I _guess_ I'd be willing to date you?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm not entirely sure how to react. Romance isn't exactly the first thing on my mind so this caught me by surprise."

Jun waved her hands reassuringly. "Hey, it's cool, it's cool. I'm just glad you guys aren't freaking out over this." She blinked and looked worriedly to Azusa. "You aren't freaking out, are you?"

Azusa nearly didn't hear. The sound in her ears of her blood pumping drowned out most other sounds. She smiled wryly. "Maybe a little bit," she admitted. "It's a lot to take in. For one, girls dating - I did not know you were into girls."

Jun shrugged. "Neither did I until this morning."

"For another, a three-way romantic relationship?"

"It's certainly unexpected," Ui said in agreement.

Jun shrugged again. "Doesn't _need_ to be the both of you."

"No... I guess it doesn't," Azusa replied shakily. She rubbed her temples. "I seriously don't know how to respond to this, Jun. It's seven a.m., I'm confused, I have a headache, and I already wanna go back to bed."

Jun raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Well _excuse me_ for bringing it up. I just wanted get out now so it doesn't make me miserable down the line. _Sorry_ for inconveniencing you."

"Wait, Jun, no, I- Look..." Azusa rubbed her face as she tried to form her thoughts into actual words. "Jun, I didn't mean it like that, I swear. Just..."

She shook her head in her hands. "I'm freaking out, Jun. I seriously am. How do I respond? What am I supposed to say? My head feels like it's spinning. I'm not joking when I say that. I want it to stop but it won't."

"O-oh..." Jun croaked. Shortly after was a panicked whisper to Ui. " _How do I calm her down?_ "

" _I don't know, this is the first time I've seen her freak out like this,_ " Ui hissed in reply. " _Why did you even say that to her!?_ "

" _It was a joke! How was I supposed to know this'd happen?_ "

" _She_ did _explicitly say she was freaking out._ "

" _I know! I wasn't thinking, okay?_ "

Azusa groaned, rubbing her temples. "Guys, I know I said I was freaking out, but if you guys freak too, you're just gonna make it worse. Can we just stop for a bit and let everything in this conversation sink in?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Okay," Azusa said, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "I am not in a state where I can continue on this topic and probably won't be any time today. I'm begging both of you, can we _please_ shelf this for later?"

Jun raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, whenever you're ready. Not gonna force you."

"I'm sorry I'm being so difficult, guys."

Ui put a reassuring hand on Azusa's shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about, Azusa. Go at your own pace."

"Yeah. Just take a deep breath and try to relax. No one's mad at you."

Azusa managed a small smile. "You certainly seemed that way."

"Shh. No I wasn't. Erase that from your mind. You too, Ui."

The three shared a short laugh. Eventually the loop of calming words ended and breakfast resumed.

 **o0o**

 **For those who have only watch the K-on anime, you're probably wondering who Nao and Sumire are and what Wakaba Girls is. To keep it short, Wakaba Girls is the band that formed after the seniors of HTT graduated and Nao and Sumire are two freshmen who joined. I'm not sure how well I wrote them but I'm not overly worried. They're characters exclusive to the manga so they're not very deep to begin with.**

 **Real talk: the first scene of this chapter was supposed to be in chapter 1. It didn't fit as well as I liked so I moved it forward. Similarly, the first scene of the next chapter was supposed to be in _this_ chapter but again it didn't fit.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Until the next chapter.**


	3. The First Step

**Let's not let our girls' problem linger, shall we? Here's chapter 3. Enjoy if you can**

 **The Fifteenth Evening**

Azusa supposed it was fortunate that her turn for hosting their sleepover coincided with when she wanted to finally talk about... _that_... Then again, maybe it _wasn't_ a coincidence at all that the dates matched. After all, with them sleeping over, she couldn't just turn tail and run back home - she was already there are so were they. She'd have to face the music that night and there was no way around it.

Although, she'd by lying if she said it wasn't nerve wracking.

Azusa fidgeted on her bed as she stared at the hands on her lap. She sat on one end of her bed, near the head board. Jun and Ui sat on the other side, near the foot. You could almost _hear_ the groan of tension in the air between them. What would happen when it snapped?

"First, I wanna apologize for last week," Azusa began. "I was caught off guard and reacted poorly."

Jun chuckled, waving a reassuring hand. "It's fine, it's fine. Nothing to be upset about."

"Right..." Azusa managed a small smile. "A-anyway..."

"I've been giving this some thought. The three of us are really close and the fact that one of us fell for the others shouldn't really be surprising. These past six weeks alone would have been enough for that to happen with any random people - and we've known each other for over two years at this point. I really shouldn't have been as surprised as I was when you confessed. It's kinda stupid now that I think-"

"Azusa, I'm gonna have to stop you there"

Azusa blinked and then sighed. "I'm getting off topic," she realized. "Sorry. I... well..."

"Your falling in love with me... with Ui... I think it's a wonderful thing. I just... I just can't return your feelings..." Azusa shook her head. "I don't understand why... I _want_ to return them. I want nothing more but to be in a happy loving relationship with the two of you... but something inside me just won't let me. No matter matter how hard I push, it won't budge... It doesn't make sense..."

Jun nodded thoughtfully. "That... that's not really surprising," she said with a wry smile. "You really never were honest enough with yourself to notice."

As Azusa blinked in confusion, Jun and Ui shared a meaningful look. Ui leaned forward. "Azusa, do you think maybe you're in love with someone else?"

Azusa tilted her head slightly. "Someone... else..." She shook her head. "I don't get what you mean. I don't really have... anyone... I'm close to..." She frowned.

An overwhelming feeling of longing and regret hit her right in the chest. "Senpai," she breathed.

Azusa rubbed the slow drip-feed tears out of her eyes. "Of course it's her," she muttered. "And I thought I was already over her leaving..."

A sad smile was on Ui's face as she pulled Azusa into an embrace. "It's okay to cry... I miss her too..." Azusa began quietly sobbing into Ui's shoulder.

A moment of silence passed. Jun awkwardly shifted in her seat.

Azusa looked up and rolled her teary eyes. "Jun, you're ruining the moment." She and Ui opened their arms for Jun. "Just get in here."

Jun smiled wryly. "Sorry I can't relate," she said as she leaned into the hug.

Azusa managed a giggle. "It's fine. It helps that you're here anyway..."

 **o0o**

Azusa lay curled up on her side, staring at the wall next to her bed. She wasn't sure what time it was but it was probably really late. Really, she should've been asleep but she couldn't.

She felt Ui's arms wrap around her waist from behind. She took a sharp breath.

" _You're awake, right?_ " Ui whispered. " _Are you okay, Azusa?_ "

Azusa relaxed into the hug and chuckled slightly. " _I'm okay. You just surprised me, is all..._ "

Ui also made a surprised noise as she suddenly pushed herself even closer to Azusa.

" _What's wrong?_ "

" _Jun's moving again,_ " Ui said apologetically. " _I'm sorry. It must be cramped._ "

" _It's fine. It's not so bad, honestly._ "

There was a pause.

" _Hey, Azusa..._ "

Azusa pursed her lips. With that serious tone, she could tell that Ui was worried about something. " _What is it?_ "

" _I... I kind of want to try dating Jun... Would that be okay?_ "

Azusa nearly laughed, but settled on a wide amused smile instead. " _You're asking for my permission?_ "

" _What's so funny?_ "

" _Nothing, nothing._ " Azusa shifted to the side so she could roll over and face Ui. " _It's just weird that you think you need my input about this._ "

In the darkness, Azusa could see the faintly see Ui pouting.

" _It's not really that weird. Think about it Azusa. The two of us are your friends. If we start dating, what will happen to you?_ "

" _I'll be fine, Ui. Don't worry about it._ "

" _I just don't want you to feel left out..._ "

Azusa chuckled once more and pulled Ui into a hug of her own. " _I said don't worry about. If you two are happy then I'll be happy._ "

Ui returned the hug. " _If you say so,_ " she replied, sounding unconvinced.

Once again, Ui made a surprised noise and was pushed even further forwards. Azusa found herself backed against the wall.

" _Okay this is getting a little cramped,_ " she admitted.

" _Wait._ " Ui put a hand on the wall and pushed herself backwards. There was an uncomfortable groan from Jun but she otherwise stayed asleep. " _Better?_ "

" _Thanks. I'm gonna try to go to sleep now. It's probably really late._ "

" _Good night, Azusa. I'll see you at breakfast_."

" _And I'll see_ you _when I wake up. Good night_."

 **The Fifteenth Morning**

Jun nearly choked on her bacon. "Wait, what!?"

Ui giggled. "I said I'll go on a date with you." She offered Jun a napkin, pointing at a spot under her lower lip.

Jun embarrassedly rubbed her mouth with the napkin. "So... just like that? We're girlfriends now?"

Ui shrugged. "I suppose?"

Jun turned to Azusa. "And you're okay with it?"

Azusa was in the process of taking a sip of water. It took an agonizingly long time but eventually she set the cup down on the table. She looked at Jun dryly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well..." Jun scratched her head. "We're your friends. If we start dating then what about you?"

Azusa's look of stoicism shattered as she burst out laughing. Similarly, Ui was giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"Ui said the same thing when _she_ asked for my permission."

Jun blinked. "Oh. So you're cool with it?"

Azusa rubbed her face as she tried to get the giggles out of her system. "Yes, Jun. I am completely fine with it."

Jun breathed a sigh of relief. "That's awesome then."

"Just make sure you're happy. I don't want my friends ending up miserable together."

"No promises," Jun said with a smirk. "Ain't that right, Ui?"

Ui smiled as she always did. "We'll try our best, though."

Azusa nodded. "As you should. Anyway, can we get on with breakfast? We can't let this go to waste"

 **o0o**

 **The Azusa-angst will continue for a few more chapters. But it won't be too bad. I promise. It's just something that needs to be addressed.**

 **After a certain point, I'm gonna have to change scene formats. I can't always be counting mornings and evenings where they're sleeping over. Until then tho, I hope you enjoyed.**

 **See you next chapter**


	4. A Cozy Closeness

**Here's the fourth chapter ready to be read. Enjoy if you can.  
**

 **The Sixteenth Evening**

Ui entered the room with a tray of hot cocoa mugs which she set on the table. Jun immediately cheered and grabbed a mug. "Finally I can take a break!" Next to her, Azusa could only roll her eyes.

"Jun, you've barely even started on that essay."

"Yeah yeah. I'm not finished with it but you are. You don't have to rub it in."

Azusa raised her hands. "I'm just pointing it out," she said innocently. "Didn't say anything else."

Jun gave Azusa a sideways look. "Yeah. But you were thinking it." She took a sip of her drink and her sour expression immediately sweetened. "Aw, this is heaven."

Azusa grabbed a mug of her own and sampled the cocoa. "Hmm. It's good but it seems different from the usual. Is this a new mix?"

Ui shook her head. "It's the same cocoa powder but different milk brands - our usual brand was sold out last time we went grocery shopping. I think there was a sale."

Azusa nodded quietly and took a long sip. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice how Ui had taken a seat across the table from her but was leaning slightly in the direction of Jun. Similarly, Jun who sat at Azusa's side seemed to have shifted a little bit closer. It was a subtle change to the norm but Azusa noticed it quite easily.

Azusa kept these observations to herself, of course. She wasn't the teasing type - and even if she were, going for such little details was already reaching a little too far.

Azusa set down her mug on the table. "So how was your first two days as girlfriends?"

"I'm not sure why you'd need to ask us." Jun looked to Azusa with a cheeky grin. "You were third-wheeling us the entire time, you know?"

Azusa turned a nose at the statement. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just happened to have things to do where you guys were going."

Ui smiled politely. "To be fair, we weren't actually on dates back then." Jun shrugged in response.

"Anyway, to answer your question, Azusa, I don't exactly feel much different. I _do_ feel quite happy whenever I think about it now and again. It feels nice to know you're loved, you know?"

"I guess I feel the same way," Jun said when Azusa turned to her. "I guess the only difference is I can't really stop thinking about it."

Azusa nodded. "You _have_ been smiling a lot more," she noted as she took another sip.

"I guess I have." Jun leaned back, looking at the ceiling. "Sometimes it just hits me how lucky I am to spend so much time with the people I love. Like, ignoring the romance, I just really care about you two. It makes me wanna scream sometimes, you know?"

Azusa found herself smiling wide. "Aw, Jun. That's sweet."

Jun smirked. "Yeah. All sweet and fluffy, like a marshmallow - just the way you two like it. Ain't that right, Ui?"

Ui giggled. "As sweet as can be," she said, taking a sip of her own drink.

"I aim to please," Jun said, shrugging with confidence.

They shared a cozy laugh.

 **o0o**

Ui sat on her bed, idly playing a verse from U&I on her Stratocaster. She smiled nostalgically as she remembered when her sister played the song for her during the school festival. The first time she heard it, it brought a tear to her eyes. Even now she still felt strongly about it...

She would have started crying right then and there if it weren't for Jun entering her room and making an enthusiastic exclamation.

"Whoo, that felt good!" Jun said with a whistle, removing the towel wrapped around her hair. "Nothing like a nice hot bath before hitting the hay."

Ui rubbed the tears out of her eyes, a certain calm coming upon her. "Azusa's still in the bath?"

Jun grinned and nodded. "Yeah. You know how that girl is with her hair."

To that Ui giggled. Azusa was always the one who took the longest during their baths because she had to spend a lot more time with her hair. She didn't take disproportionately long, but it was still notable how much longer she took compared to Ui and Jun.

"Don't be like that, Jun. I like her hair."

Jun snickered. "Yeah, I like it too. It's soft and it smells nice."

"Yeah," Ui sighed in agreement.

Their wait for Azusa did not take long. Within five minutes, she entered the room, her hair still wrapped tightly with a towel. "Can I borrow your hair dryer? I left mine at home."

Ui smiled politely and gestured to her drawer. "Second drawer from the top. It should be there. It's a bit broken, though. Don't try to set it at the highest setting or it'll just suddenly stop working for a couple of minutes."

Azusa replied with a hum of appreciation. The hairdryer was indeed where Ui had told her it would be. She began drying her hair, meticulously brushing it as she did so.

As Azusa worked on that, Ui returned her guitar to its stand in the corner. With the loud buzzing of the hair dryer, it didn't make much sense for her to try and continue playing.

Sitting back down on the bed, Ui could note how Jun had stopped toweling off her hair and was now clearly staring at Azusa. Ui could only smile wryly at the sight.

"Beautiful," Jun mumbled, barely audible over the sound of they hair dryer. "Ah, what I'd give to have hair like that."

Ui looked to Azusa before nodding slowly. "Why don't you offer your help?"

Jun blinked and looked up at Ui with a thousand watt smile. There was wordless exchange of thanks as Jun stood and walked to where Azusa was. "Oi, Azusa!"

Ui chuckled as she watched the two interact, a bubbly warmth welling up inside her. She felt at peace. which was a relatively uncommon thing for her. Really, ever since her third year began, feeling at peace within her own home had become nothing more than a memory. With her sister gone, there was a certain emptiness to the house - a hollowness to the silence that left her ears ringing and her heart aching. Some nights, the feeling of loneliness threatened to overwhelm her.

But then, whenever Azusa and Jun were around, all of that emptiness was filled somehow. The sense of isolation she felt was nowhere to be found. It was a cozy comfort for her to know that her friends were nearby

 _I love these two,_ Ui thought. _And while that love isn't necessarily romantic, it's love all the same._

 **o0o**

It was the dead of night but Jun was still awake. The conversation earlier while they were answering their homework had struck a chord with her.

Ui was right. They haven't actually gone on a date yet. Sure, she knew for a fact that Ui wasn't upset in the slightest. But it just didn't sit right with Jun. Now that she was made aware of it, she couldn't get it out of her head. As it happened, it was keeping her up that night.

She shifted on the bed. " _Hey, guys? Any of you awake?_ " she whispered, expecting no response.

Much to her surprise, Ui rolled around to face her. " _What's up?_ " Ui asked, drowsily rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Jun winced. " _Sorry I woke you._ "

" _It's fiiine~_ " was Ui's airy reply. " _I was having trouble sleeping anyway._ _Is something bothering you, Jun?_ "

Jun nodded quietly. " _Are you upset that we haven't gone on a date yet?_ " she muttered timidly.

Ui seemed to regard the question for a moment. " _Is this because of earlier?_ " Jun nodded. Ui chuckled softly. " _No, Jun. I'm not upset. It's okay._ "

Jun nodded once more. That was her expected answer. " _I... I kinda wanna go on a date, though... Would it be okay?_ "

Once again, there was a pause before Ui responded. She giggled. " _I would love to, Jun._ "

Jun released a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. " _I don't know what I was so worried about, but you wouldn't believe how relieved I feel right now,_ " she said with a sigh.

Ui made no comment but merely pulled Jun into an embrace. " _Just relax Jun. Empty your mind and focus on your breathing._ "

Part of Jun wanted to make a quip that she wasn't nearly worried enough that she'd need to do breathing exercises but decided against it. She closed her eyes and did as she was told. She was surprised to find that she was already drifting away from consciousness.  
With a smile, she pulled Ui even closer and let sleep take her

 **The Sixteenth Morning**

For the first time in a long time, Azusa was surprised when she woke up. Ui was still asleep next to her as usual but Jun was not on the floor. Instead, she was lying on top of both Azusa and Ui, her face buried squarely on Azusa's chest.

Azusa grimaced as she attempted to sit up. Doing so had somehow made Jun press her face against her chest even harder. She almost seemed like she was nuzzling her. Her heart rate quickened.

"Jun, get off me," she mumbled pleadingly as she tried to push the sleeping girl off of her. She was met with no results.

She then turned to Ui and tapped her on the shoulder. "Ui, wake up."

After a moment, Ui began to stir. She looked to Azusa drowsily. "Wha...?"

"Help get Jun off of me. Please. I really need to use the rest room!"

 **o0o**

 **I would like to thank Vivi, a friend of mine, for helping me out with writing this chapter. They did very little other than lend an ear while I was working on a part I was stuck with but it helped out a lot.  
**

 **The next wave of chapters for this story is coming shortly. I want to at least get to chapter five before the month of Jun ends. I hope you enjoyed. I'll see you all next chapter.**


	5. A Day of Firsts

**Remember that format change I was telling you guys about? Here's chapter 5. Enjoy if you can**

 ** _June 05. Sunday. The day of Jun and Ui's first date  
_ 06:07**

Azusa opened her eyes wholly expecting to find Jun and Ui on her bed. For a moment, she thought she saw what she expected, Ui's back directly in front of her with half the blanket wrapped around her. Jun would be on the floor or perhaps in some weird position on the bed out of sight. But then her eyes cleared and she was faced with a sobering realization. Jun and Ui were _not_ there...

 _That's right,_ Azusa thought quietly, stifling a yawn. _They're going on a date today... so I suggested that we skip sleeping over last night..._

She sat up and looked around the emptiness that was her room. She found her gaze lingering at the space on her bed where Jun and Ui would normally be during their sleepovers. She could only frown at the spot's vacancy.

 _I guess I got a little too used to it,_ Azusa thought as she got out of bed. She then moved to exit the room but stopped right as she crossed the threshold. She looked back and give the room one last once-over. _It feels strangely lonely without them here,_ she noted with a wry smile. She sighed and shook her head. _I hope my mornings without them won't always feel like this. I don't think I'd be able to take it..._

With that, she closed the door and continued her morning routine.

 **09:52**

Jun awkwardly shifted her weight as she stood at a corner outside the shopping center. She felt weirdly tense despite herself. She was fairly sure that Ui was going to be happy regardless of what they do together on their date. She really shouldn't have been as worried as she was. She honestly didn't understand why. She just felt that way. It was more than a little bit frustrating.

Technically, her date was supposed to be at ten but in her excitement, she may have sorta... kinda... accidentally... arrived thirty minutes early... This proved to be a grave mistake as whatever excitement she felt was replaced with an equal measure of anxiety. The agony of waiting for twenty minutes was already taking its toll on her.

Forcing a slow and deep breath, Jun straightened her clothes for the sixth time in as many minutes. After which, she turned to the glass cafe window behind her to tidy up her hair.

She slapped her cheeks. "God, Jun, get a hold of yourself," she muttered, glaring at her own reflection. "Your date is your best friend. There's nothing to be scared of. Relax, girl. You got this."

Inside the cafe, a couple were taking their seats at the table on the other side of the window that Jun was using as a mirror. Taking that as her cue to leave, she let her pep-talk come to a close and moved to a section of wall with no windows.

She checked her phone again for the time. _Just five more minutes._ Her wait continued...

 **10:04**

Jun noticed Ui before Ui noticed her. That being said, it was more than a little amusing to watch her girlfriend look around for her like a puppy searching for its owner. The cute little pout on her face was enough to make Jun squeal in delight. She let it go on for maybe a minute before calling out.

"Sorry I'm late," Ui said as she approached. "I had trouble finding you in this crowd."

" _Fashionably late,_ you mean?" Jun corrected jokingly. "It's been like five minutes, Ui. Don't worry. I haven't been waiting long."

As Ui breathed a sigh of relief from Jun's white lie, part of Jun wondered where her sudden confidence had come from. Not ten minutes ago, she was just about ready to break down. Not that she was complaining, of course.

She stepped back and gave Ui a once over. Her current outfit was one Jun had seen before - arguably one of Jun's favorites even. It wasn't really anything extravagant. It was just a plain white one-piece dress with short sleeves and a blue vest worn over it. It was simple but it complimented Ui's looks, making her all the cuter for it.

Jun said a much to Ui, to which she smiled and blushed shyly. "Thank you, Jun. You look quite pretty as well."

The compliment sent waves of excitement through Jun as she felt her heartbeat quicken. She grinned in response.

Jun had spent the better part of her morning fussing over what she was going to wear. Quite unlike her, if she were being honest. She tended to just wear whatever was on the top of the stack in her drawers. Most of her clothes seemed to match fairly well so she could afford to do that. Why she _didn't_ do that for this date was beyond her. She could probably pin it on the feeling of newness she felt from going on a date and she wouldn't be even wrong.

Of course, her fussing about her clothes had been useless as she ended up wearing clothes she had worn before anyway. And those clothes were a white short-sleeve hoodie worn over a teal long-sleeve shirt with teal leggings. She felt mildly disappointed in her choice of outfits despite knowing Ui wouldn't mind. Suffice it to say, the compliment had changed her opinion on the matter.

Jun stepped forward. "Shall we go?" she asked, offering her arm.

Ui giggled and took hold of Jun. "Lead the way."

The two made their way into the shopping center, hand in hand.

 **11:47**

After watching a movie, Jun and Ui returned from the theater to the cafe that was their meeting place earlier that morning. Coincidentally, the seats they ended up taking were the ones on the other side of the window Jun had used as a mirror. No doubt, Ui would have been amused if Jun had told her this fact. Unfortunately, Jun was currently occupied by a dispassionate rant about the movie they just watched.

The two had watched a romance drama. They didn't research beforehand what was showing at the theater that day so they had to choose on the spot between an action, horror, and romance movie. Since they had no preference, they merely chose the one with the catchiest title.

All things considered, the movie was entertaining if a bit disappointing. But that little amount of disappointment seemed to sour Jun's mood in ways she couldn't understand much less describe.

"They were together for like half the movie," she grumbled. "I don't get why they didn't kiss at any point. Not even at the end. It's so frustrating."

If Ui was in any way annoyed by Jun's complaining, she didn't show it. In fact, Jun would argue that Ui looked vaguely amused as she listened, staring intently and drinking her tea in long slow sips as she did so.

Ui set her cup down on the table. "May I pose a counter argument?" she asked with the same polite smile she had been keeping for much of Jun's tirade.

Jun shifted in her seat, awkwardly sliding her own cup closer. Looking down at the ripples in the dark liquid, she realized she had barely drank any. "Sure," she said, taking a sip.

"Maybe their relationship wasn't the kind where they _needed_ to kiss?"

Jun continued to sip as she thought on Ui's hypothesis. And the more she thought on it, the less pleased she felt. A frown tugged on her lips as she put her cup back down in front of her. "I guess," she mumbled, unconvinced.

She then blinked upon realizing that Ui was chuckling. Jun raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Ui smiled, shaking her head. "What is this _really_ about, Jun? Because I for one enjoyed the movie a lot. And I know that you enjoyed it too. But you seem so fixated on this one detail."

Jun blinked once more and looked down. The unsure eyes reflected on the surface of her tea gave no answer but she continued staring all the same. Her frowned deepened. "I don't know... I just really wanted them to kiss, you know...?"

A moment of silence passed. In that time, their order of sandwiches had arrived. The waiter set down the platter in between them, waiting for one of them to take one. For the longest time, no one did.

"Jun," Ui began.

At the sound of her name, Jun looked up from her drink and was met with an odd smile. "W-what...?" she asked nervously.

"Don't you think that maybe..." Ui blushed, averting her eyes. "Maybe you feel that way because you want to kiss me?"

With those simple words, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions swept through Jun's mind. Any clear thought in her head was reduced to an incoherent mess in its wake.

"I... uh..." Jun's face felt hot as her words failed her.

Ui once again chuckled, shaking her head. "You don't have to answer that question right now." She pushed the platter of sandwiches forward. "Try to eat. It'll help you relax at the very least."

Jun nodded automatically, doing as Ui said and stuffing herself with sandwiches. It was all she could do to not let the confused and excited scream raging inside her from escaping.

 **1:26**

Ui ended up being right. A full stomach eventually calmed Jun down enough for her to salvage the wrecked state of her mind into something she could actually think with. Of course, that didn't get her anywhere close to actually figuring out what to say to Ui. That being said, the what they did next afforded Jun ample time to think on the matter.

They had gone to the local arcade that Jun frequented. For a while, they played some racing and dancing games but none of those kept their interest for more than a few minutes. Then they arrived at the air hockey table and found that they liked playing each other. The two were currently half an hour into surprisingly competitive match with the score at four to three favoring Jun.

Jun had always prided herself as the best at the game among her circle of friends but was quickly given a run for her money when Ui stepped up to the plate. At first, she was easily getting past Ui's defenses as Ui did not play as often as Jun did. Her first two goals came in quick succession. Eventually, Ui started to learn Jun's aggressive style of play and adapted accordingly. The delay between Jun's previous goal and her next one was much longer than she anticipated. And the next goal took even longer. Eventually she found that _she_ was the one on the defensive, with Ui wearing her down with relentless volleys.

Jun bit her lip as the puck clipped on the side of her paddle and entered her goal. They were now tied at four points.

Jun shot Ui and a grin and an impressed whistle, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. "Damn, Ui. You're putting up a tougher fight than I expected."

Ui smiled and nodded, breathing heavily. "I didn't expect to be doing this well either. I'm having a lot of fun but I'm getting a little tired now."

"I'm exhausted too. Wanna call it a draw?"

Ui smirked. "No. I'm gonna win this."

Jun laughed. "We'll see about that! Whoever gets the next point is the winner!"

 **2:09**

The two entered the Hirasawa residence, removed their shoes, and immediately made for the living room. They both collapsed on the couch, exhausted from their match earlier.

Their game had ended when the puck flew off the table and hit the face of the arcade employee who was there to yell at them to leave. Apparently they were hogging the table for too long. Since the two had already severely inconvenienced the employee and the other arcade patrons, they decided not to argue for completing their match and just call it a draw. It was a disappointing turn of events. It had been a fun match though so it was nothing they were willing to complain about.

"Hey, Jun...?"

Said girl remained lying down on the far side of the couch. She had a feeling she knew what Ui was going to say. "What's up?" she asked, tilting her head to look at Ui who was lying on the other side.

Ui rolled over and faced the ceiling. "About earlier... in the cafe..."

Jun blinked. Had it been only a few hours earlier, she would have started panicking at the mere mention of that. But instead, she merely closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She sat up and willed her now racing heart beat to slow - a futile attempt but an attempt all the same. "What about it?" she said, doing her best to keep her voice even and steady.

Jun watched Ui's face turn a few shades redder as she closed her eyes. "I just wanted you to know," she began, "if you ever do want to... to kiss me... I..." She pursed her lips, stumbling on her words. "If you ever wanted to do that, I'd be okay with it..."

For a moment, the only sound was the ticking of the wall clock and the whirring on the electric fan. In that moment, Jun took another deep breath to steel herself. The door was open. She just had to take the next step. She shifted closer to Ui.

Ui opened her eyes upon noticing this. "Ju-!?" Her words were cut off when Jun pressed her lips against Ui's.

...

When Jun pulled away, she found herself staring intensely into Ui's eyes as the other did the same to her. Their breaths mingled, neither one of them opting to move father. It was intoxicating. She almost wanted to pull Ui into another kiss right then and there...

"Wow," Ui said, her voice small.

Jun blinked, Ui suddenly snapping her out of her daze. She leaned back, letting Ui sit up. A low chuckled escaped her. "Yeah. ' _Wow_ ' is right."

"Are you feeling better?" Ui asked, a slight smile tugging on the corners of her mouth.

Jun thought for a bit before grinning. She stood up and jumped. "I feel great! Never felt happier in my life!"

Ui giggled. "That's good..."

Jun sat back down. "What about you?"

Ui regarded the question for a moment before replying. "Honestly? I don't really know what I feel about this. Back at the cafe, piecing together what was bothering you was kinda fun in some weird way. It was sort of like a puzzle. I was so proud when I solved it but it didn't really register to me what it meant until a bit later. You weren't the only one who was freaking out when I told you to eat and calm down. That advice was as much for myself as it was for you..." She smiled and shook her head. "You could say it was a good thing you took so long to figure out your feelings about this. It gave me enough time to figure out my own. Obviously we kissed so..."

There was a pause.

"I guess I'm pretty happy about this too... It feels nice..."

Jun put a hand on Ui's and they shared a meaningful look. "Thanks, Ui."

"I'm glad I was able to share that moment with you Jun."

They pulled each other into an embrace and stayed like that for a long while.

"So," Jun asked at their holds loosened and they drifted away. "I'm still rarin' to go. Wanna go another round?"

Ui smiled politely. "I... I think I'll pass," she said shakily. "I'm really tired, Jun. Also," she put a hand on her chest. "I don't think my heart can take much more excitement - at least not today..."

To that, Jun laughed. "Maybe you should grab a bite to calm yourself down."

"Truthfully, I'd prefer a short nap instead. I wasn't kidding when I said I was tired."

Jun nodded, understanding. "Yeah, I get that," she said with a sigh. She then stood up. "Welp, I probably shouldn't stick around here for too long. You need your sleep and my being here'll keep you from getting it."

"Oh, don't be like that Jun. You don't _have_ to leave."

Jun stopped midway through picking up her bag and gave Ui a look. "Do you _want_ me to smother you with kisses? Because if I stay here for much longer today, that's exactly what I'll end up doing."

Ui sweatdropped. "Eh... maybe next time," she replied awkwardly. "I'll see you at school, Jun."

Jun gave a lazy salute as she made her way to the door. "See you at school, Ui."

With that, Jun left the Hirasawa residence, returning home with a notable spring in her step.

 **5:30**

Azusa lied on her bed, frowning at her phone screen. She had lost count of how many times she had reread those string of messages that Jun and Ui had sent her. Despite the radically different wording and conveyed emotion in the texts, they all said basically the same thing: that Jun and Ui had kissed and that they were both unbelievably happy about it.

She let her arms go limp and fall onto the bed, a tired groan escaping her mouth.

 _I should be happy for them,_ Azusa thought with a scowl. _And yet..._ She shook her head. _I hate feeling like this... What do I have to do to make it stop...?_

The answer didn't come to her.

 **o0o**

 **So much for releasing this chapter before June ended. But this is literally twice as large as some of the chapters that came before it. If you could forgive the delay, do know that it was for the sake of having more content.**

 **Firstly, the format change.  
The scene transitions have been replaced with dates and exact times, letting me skip multiple sentences worth exposition. I also have _"The day of Jun and Ui's first date"_ written after the exact date and day. I'm still going to be counting sleep overs but it will be a slightly different format. It's quite convenient if I do say so myself. All future chapters will have the same format as this one. I hope it wasn't too abrupt a change.**

 **Secondly, Jun and Ui kissed!  
I had a kiss scene mostly written on the day the previous chapter was published. However, as I went about writing this chapter, I realized I was gonna have to scrap that kiss scene in favor of the one we have here. The events and build up of this chapter just fits this version much better than with the other one. Of course, you're not gonna know what the other one is like so you'll just have to take my word for it. Suffice it to say, I'm very very happy with how this turned out.**

 **Lastly, Azu-angst.  
I'm repeating myself by saying this but the angst will continue for a few more chapters. There are issues she needs to deal with and I refuse to sweep them under the rug.  
**

 **In any case, I'll end this note here. Hope you enjoyed. Until next chapter.**


	6. The Week Following

**Eyo, everyone. Sorry for the long hiatus. Thanks for Goji for the reviews. 'Twas much appriciated. Anyway, here's the new chapter. Enjoy if you can!**

 **June 6**

Azusa awoke that morning once again feeling the same odd emptiness from the previous day. Odder still was the fact that she felt that emptiness on a Monday morning since not once had the three of them ever slept over on a Sunday night.

Blinking the drowsiness out of her eyes, Azusa uncurled and sat up, the blanket sliding off of her shoulders as she did so.

That was another thing that she felt odd about - the blanket still being on top of her in the morning. Yes, half the time, she woke up with the blanket somewhere between Ui and the floor. But for the mornings when the two weren't sleeping over, she'd wake up wrapped in it as she was when she fell asleep. If anything, she should have felt odd _every_ morning because it was always different.

 _I've been sitting in bed, awake and alert for five minutes now,_ Azusa realized.

With the shake of her head, she dispelled her mind of unwanted thoughts. She still had school that morning and the oddness of waking up wrapped in a blanket was not an excuse to waste her time twiddling her thumbs. She got up and began her morning routine, as she usually did.

 **000**

Azusa was idly flipping pages on her notebook when Jun entered their classroom. She was strangely early, something that Azusa was quick to comment on.

"I don't know why but I woke up pretty easily this morning," Jun said with a shrug as she took a seat on the table next to Azusa's. "Which is really weird since I don't feel rested at all."

Azusa gave her a short dry stare in acknowledgement before returning her attention to her notebook. As she did so, she spoke in a calm and even voice. "We have chairs, Jun. Off the desk."

" _Someone's_ grumpy this morning," Jun muttered with a smirk as she moved to sit on the chair. "Didn't sleep well without us to cuddle with?"

"I didn't sleep well because I got so used to having the blankets pulled off of me in the middle of the night. It threw me off to still be wrapped in it when I woke up."

Azusa turned her back to Jun, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She knew she wasn't lying but couldn't help but feel like she was making excuses. Jun seemed to notice this and regarded Azusa's quip with a long moment of silence. Azusa was just about to look back to see what was wrong when suddenly Jun's arms wrapped around her shoulders. She felt the taller girl's chin rest on top of her head. Even without looking, Azusa could tell that Jun still had that smirk on her face.

"Just drop the act, Azusa." Jun said softly. "You missed us, right?"

Azusa felt her heart rate jump up in tempo for a moment before she relaxed into Jun's arms. Jun had become increasingly adept at reading Azusa's moods - her and Ui. Azusa could not quite understand how they were capable of being so accurate. In all likelihood, they probably just recognized the subtle tells of her body language. She definitely wouldn't put it past them.

"Fine," she muttered, touching a hand on Jun's arm. "I missed you a lot, Jun."

There was a short pause where Jun didn't reply.

"I missed you too, Azusa," Jun finally said.

Azusa found herself smiling wryly. "Was all of that really necessary, though? Why didn't you just up and told me that you missed me? I'd reply that I missed you too, you know?"

Jun seemed to tighten her embrace. "But where's the fun in that?"

Azusa blinked, the question striking her in some weird way. Where _was_ the fun in that? "I suppose you have a point..."

They remained like that in silence for a moment.

"You know... I felt kinda bad last night..."

Azusa raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking a lot," Jun replied. "I was feeling really happy when I sent you those messages, you know? I felt like I was on top of the world after the... uh... the k-i-s-"

Azusa rolled her eyes. "Jun, you kissed. Don't be embarrassed about it."

Jun started jostling Azusa in her arms. "Aaaazusaaa~ I'm trying to tell a heartfelt story here."

Azusa wriggled out of Jun's hold and faced her. "Look, Jun, if you want to tell me this story without others overhearing, tell it quickly. This classroom won't be empty for long. Just suck it up and speak."

Jun pouted. "I hate it when you're right. You always get that weirdly enthusiastic smile on your face - even for little things like guessing how many-."

" _Jun_."

"Right, right," Jun said with a dismissive wave, once again taking a seat at the desk next to Azusa's.

"Anyway, I felt really happy and I told you all about it, right? But then, after dinner, I found myself thinking about you. You know? The typical _wonder what my friend is doing_ kinda thing? And just... I felt kinda guilty, somehow? Like... Like..." Jun made a vague gesture with her hands.

"Jun what does _this_ ," Azusa mimicked the gesture, "even mean? What were you feeling guilty about?"

"I'm getting there, darn it!" Jun hissed, grabbing Azusa's arms and putting them down onto the table. "Level with me, Azusa. Were we shoving our relationship into your face too much yesterday?"

Azusa blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Just... I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't really stop and think about what _you_ felt. How do _you_ feel about all this?"

Azusa stared helplessly into Jun's eyes, unsure of what to say. For majority of the day prior, she had been pondering on that very question. Even after a full night of sleep, she still hadn't figured it out.

"You shouldn't worry, Jun," Azusa found herself saying. "I want you two to be happy. And if you two being together is what makes you happy, then what else is there to say?"

Jun seemed to relax somewhat but the light in her eyes were still uneasy. She let go of Azusa's arms, looking away. "I really hope that's true, Azusa. Cuz if it's not, you can bet I'm gonna do something about it."

Azusa managed a small smile. "That almost sounds like a threat."

"It's not. Just a promise."

"No, I pretty sure that was a threat."

Jun tapped a finger on Azusa's nose. "Shh, no it isn't. Just forget about it."

With that, Jun walked away to her seat and Azusa returned to her notes. When she glanced at Jun a few minutes later, she found that Jun was already asleep.

"She _did_ say she didn't feel rested at all," Azusa mumbled. She then shook her head and rolled her shoulders, quietly remembering the warm hug that she received just a few minutes ago. It reminded her of a time that seemed ages ago. "Some things never change, I guess."

The morning before classes continued without further incident.

 **June 7**

Azusa, Jun, and Ui walked the streets in relative silence on their way home from school. They were just a block and a half away from Ui's house. Azusa was keenly aware of the subtly different rhythm of their foot steps as she continued forward with her eyes turned down to the ground in front of her. Jun and Ui's walking had felt oddly nervous behind her for the entire journey. Did she dare guess the reason for why that was? Well, it's not like guessing would give her the answer. She might as well just ask.

Azusa stopped and turned back to them. "Is there a reason why you're both so tense right now?" she asked dryly. "It's not because you wanna hold hands, is it? Because if it is, you should just hold hands. Your indecision is giving me a headache."

The two seemed to fall into some sort of flustered daze as they talked over each other about how that's not what it was. Azusa was torn between amusement and bewilderment at the reaction. While it was hilarious, it was a bit out of character. She could understand Jun suddenly stammering in response but Ui?

Azusa sighed. "I want both of you to take a deep breath," she said calmly, putting both of her hands up. "Inhale... Hold... Exhale..." The two seemed to relax slightly. "Now... You say you're not nervous because you want to hold hands? Fine, that's not what it is. What is it then? Tell me what's wrong."

Jun and Ui exchanged looks nervously.

"Well, uh, you see," Jun began. "You kind of have this weird... _aura_...? about you? Like a passive aggressive feeling? You're, like... _radiating_ that feeling." Azusa scowled as Jun gestured towards her, less so towards Azusa herself as so much as towards her general direction. "It was like you wanted to be somewhere else while wanting to be close by at the same time. We couldn't really make heads or tails of it."

Azusa nodded slowly at Jun's vague explanation as she tried to parse it. Glancing at Ui only gave her the same look of nervous worry the Jun had. She was being passive aggressive? Really? She didn't feel like she was being that way. She wasn't really that type of person - or at least she didn't think she was. She just had to wonder what exactly they meant by that...

A wry smile eventually started tugging at her lips. When she realized the reason, it hit her like a baseball pitch to the face. She could only avert her eyes guiltily at the thought. "I... may have sorta... kinda... been trying to give you two some space... you know... so you two could be alone together...?"

Ui stared blankly. "Oh..."

Jun nodded slowly. Azusa could tell that gears were already turning in her head. That could only lead to trouble.

"If that's true... Why were you tailing us the entire time if you wanted to give us some space? Like... that doesn't make sense..."

Azusa pursed her lips. She expected such a question. And quite regrettably, she wasn't good enough a liar to just give them a fake reason that'd be believable. Hell, even if she _was_ a good liar, she doubted she'd have a good fake reason. She'd have to tell them the truth, much to her embarrassment.

"Well... you two looked really... _cute_... so," Azusa mumbled.

At that, Jun and Ui once again shared a look. Azusa could see the look of mixed emotions on their faces as they slowly shook their heads with a wry smile not unlike the one Azusa herself wore. She almost dreaded what was to come next.

"Oh Azusa, what are you we going to do with you?" Ui asked tiredly.

"I'll say," Jun added, doing her best to suppress her own laughter. "I never took you for a peeping-tom, Azusa."

"I didn't know it was doing it! I swear!"

Jun broke into a cackle. "That makes it even better!"

Azusa felt blood rush to her cheeks. This was it. The onslaught of teasing had begun. And she had every expectation that she'd just make it worse with every word that came out of her mouth.

But then Jun threw her curveball and dragged both Azusa and Ui into a group hug. Azusa barely had time to utter her indignant response before she found herself rubbing cheeks with Ui and Jun. She blinked in confusion at the unexpected turn of events.

"Oh my GOD, Azusa! Do you have _any_ idea how relieved I am right now!? Here I was, losing my mind over how you might _not_ like being with the two of us now that we started dating. And you know what? It turns out you were just being a pervert!"

" _Shut up_ , Jun," Azusa hissed, her confusion swept aside by righteous indignation once more. "We're so close to the house? Can't celebration wait til we get there? People are gonna hear us."

"That's right, Jun. You're disturbing the neighborhood," Ui said in a similarly scolding tone.

Indeed, the few pedestrians who were going about their day had stopped to look curiously at the three girls causing a small commotion. Upon noticing this, Jun quickly let the two of them go and took a step back, arms right stiffly in surrender. "Right-right. We're cool, we're cool. Nothing to see here," she stammered.

Azusa palmed her face in an attempt to hide the deep blush that had probably erupted on it. "The damage is done, Jun. Congratulations."

Jun clapped her hands together and bowed. "I'm sorry!"

"Oh for the love of-" Azusa rolled her eyes and grabbed Jun by the collar, forcing her to stand upright. "Come on, Jun. We can continue this conversation at home," she said as she situated herself behind Jun and started pushing her in the direction of Ui's house. Ui said nothing and merely followed.

People continued staring for a moment more before they continued on their way.

 **June 8**

For the first time in a long time, Azusa was surprised to be in bed with Ui and Jun. It was not so much that she was surprised that they were there. Rather, she was surprised that she wasn't backed against the wall with the blanket pulled off of her.

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the rather cute sleeping face of Ui, breathing softly in a slow shallow rhythm. When she tried to sit up to see if Jun was on the floor, she felt the peculiar sensation of arms wrapped around her waist. A slight tilt of her head was enough to confirm that it was Jun's arms. Somehow, the girl had crawled over the other two and cuddled close to Azusa in her sleep.

After the crippling embarrassment that had occurred just a day prior, Azusa was still feeling somewhat sour. And here Jun was, snuggling up to her like her transgressions were already forgiven - which she was not. Forgiveness could come later. Right now, she was still upset about it. Of course that wasn't about to keep her from enjoying the gentle warmth of being surrounded by both sides by people she loved. It was just in the back of her mind as closed her eyes once more, completely forgetting that they had school that day.

 **000**

Azusa huffed as she put her Mustang back onto its stand in the club room. "Good practice everyone," she said to the other members of Wakaba Girls. "Sumire, I noticed you're tensing up again. Just relax and drum naturally."

Sumire nodded quickly. "Y-yes, senpai!"

"Chill, girl," Jun said with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Deep breaths."

Azusa then turned to Nao. "The riffs for the part before the chorus seem a little too complicated. It's doable but... maybe simplify it a bit? Remember, we'll have to do that part perfectly twice in one song."

"Understood," Nao said from the couch as she opened her laptop and started typing down Azusa's request. "I'll get on it momentarily."

"Thank you, Nao."

"Shall I serve us another round of tea?" Ui said from the cabinets, already heating up their kettle.

"Ooh! Chai if we have some," Jun said, already taking her place on the table.

"The spicy kind you got in that cafe last saturday?" Ui scanned the cabinets and shelves for a moment putting a hand on her hip. "Hmm... Sumire, do we have any of that?"

"Ah, senpai, let me..."

Azusa also took a seat at the table, as did Nao. Sumire joined Ui at the cabinets to give a helping hand. As they waited, Azusa shot Jun a questioning look. "Spicy tea?"

"Spicy isn't really the right word for it. Hmm..." Jun drummed her fingers on the table as she thought. "Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "Ever have cinnamon? It's something like that."

Azusa nodded thoughtfully. A tea that's like cinnamon? What would that even taste like? "I'll try it, I guess," she eventually concluded.

A few more moments passed as their wait continued. Nao had also brought her laptop to the table and had resumed typing - Azusa assumed it was no longer edits for the song but homework. She looked quite focused on what she was doing which was why Azusa was surprised when Nao suddenly addressed them.

"It has come to my knowledge that you are dating now."

Azusa raised her eyebrows in alarm but otherwise didn't react. Jun on the other hand looked wide eyed from panic. "How did you find out?"

"During lunch, your eyes met with Hirasawa-senpai's and a simple conversation suddenly became an intimate moment. It was incredibly awkward for the rest of us."

Azusa winced. She was around Jun and Ui enough to be acclimated to the sudden mood shifts when they interacted but still couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was still being a "pervert" by watching. In all honesty, she was trying her best to keep it out of her mind and not comment on it. That was probably the reason why she almost didn't notice it when it happened earlier that day.

"It also helps that I saw you and Hirasawa-senpai on an outing together last Sunday," Nao added. "I put the pieces together and the conclusion I came to was that you are dating."

Jun looked almost too mortified to speak. "Was it really that obvious?" she asked weakly.

"To be fair, we weren't exactly keeping it secret," Ui said as she set down a tray full of drinks.

Nao nodded. "Yes, it was obvious, and yes, it did not seem like you were keeping it secret."

Azusa took her mug and quietly drank to hide the smile of amusement on her face. She still got a kick out of Nao's rather blunt manner of speaking - more so because of other people's reactions as opposed to Nao's mannerisms.

"If we may ask, when did this start?" Nao asked, also taking a cup and sipping.

Jun scratched her cheeks, looking away. "Do you really have to start the interrogation _now_?"

"No. Would you prefer we do it at a later date or perhaps not at all?"

Jun sighed loudly. "Ui, _please_ take over. I can't deal with this."

Jun's explicit SOS was met with a smile and a giggle. Ui took a seat at the table and began to answer all of Nao's questions. Azusa merely watched and listened, nodding along to Ui's tale.

Part of Azusa was actually surprised by all the little details regarding how the two of them began dating. For one, she had totally forgotten that Nao had been the one to get the ball rolling on the whole dating thing. Jun only got the idea for it because of Nao's previous interrogation.

"Ui, _NOOO_!" Jun yelled as she stood up and reached across the table, shaking Ui by the shoulders. "They don't need to know about that!"

Ui blinked in confusion "We were keeping that secret?"

"No! Just...!"

"I still can't believe you actually spent half an hour ranting" Azusa muttered as she sipped from her cup. "Like I'd expect you to do that to me, but not to Ui."

"Now now, Azusa," Ui said, wagging her finger as she smiled mischievously. "You know that's just another show of affection for her. It's only natural that I'd get to see it too."

Azusa put a finger on her chin and nodded. "Huh... it actually sounds kinda cute, when you put it that way..."

"Can we _please_ stop talking about this?" Jun pleaded.

There was a short pause as those at the table stopped and looked at Jun for a moment before looking away. Azusa returned to drinking her tea in silence. Sumire looked down at her hands firmly planted on her lap. Ui put up a hand to cover her mouth. Nao continued staring at Jun.

Jun palmed her face at the reaction. "Okay, when I said stop, I didn't mean _literally stop_. I just wanted to change the topic."

"Have you two kissed?" Nao asked.

"Oh for crying out loud!"

Azusa eventually decided to tune out the conversation. She had reread those messages and grilled the other two for details to the point where she had already gotten sick of the story. Instead she focused on the tea that Ui made.

"This chai stuff is pretty good," Azusa muttered idly, knowing full well that her comment would be ignored in light of the current topic.

 **000**

 **And thus the story returns with a vengeance...! Okay, maybe vengeance isn't the right word. In any case, I apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. It has gone through a large number of rewrites to the point where I've written a total of 6k words worth of unusable scenes in addition to the 3k that's already in this chapter. Talk about a waste. I'll try to see if I can salvage some of those scenes for the next chapter.**

 **I'd like to thank Xiropaine/SnareRifle for helping me figure out what kind of tea Jun would like. I actually had the details ready for the previous chapter but it didn't get put in. I'm glad I was able to use it anyway. By the way, I got a chance to have some recently and I really liked it. I probably won't recommend that everyone drink it but it's definitely worth at try.**

 **I'll end this here. Until the next chapter, everyone.**


	7. Awareness and Affection

**Oh man. Six months just passed like a flash. Sorry for the delay. Another fairly short chapter. Enjoy if you can.**

* * *

 **June 10**

* * *

Late that night, Azusa lay in her bed, quietly contemplating the past week of school. It had been, to put simply, strange. Despite the general hustle and bustle of highschool life as a senior, that week had long stretches of time wherein she had nothing to do. And as had happened, she had spent those periods simply staring at Jun and Ui. For whatever reason, she seemed drawn to them. She didn't know why.

Ever since the two had their first date, there was this sort of lovey-dovey aura about them. Obviously they were trying to hide it but Azusa was just as keen to their moods as they were to hers. She could sense the heightened state of alertness they'd enter whenever they heard the other's voice. She could sense how excited they got whenever they brushed hands. She could even sense when the two were trying to be secretly intimate, holding hands and sneaking kisses while Azusa was still in the room. She could sense all of those things.

And, the weirdest thing about it? She found herself almost kind of _enjoying_ it. She'd feel this odd excitement whenever she noticed how close the Jun and Ui were getting. She would liken it to the way Mugi would sometimes act whenever Mio and Ritsu were being cute together or whenever Yui was being affectionate. She just felt this odd eagerness to see it unfold. She didn't understand it.

And quite frankly? She didn't _want_ to understand it. She'd just wait it out until it went away.

And if it _didn't_ go away? Well, there were worse things in the world than being really happy that her two friends were in love.

Azusa's internal musings were cut short when she felt someone on the bed stir. Based on the motions, it was probably Jun.

" _Hey, anyone awake?_ " Jun whispered.

" _I'm awake._ "Azusa whispered back.

" _Azusa? Huh. Weird. I expected you to be asleep_."

Azusa rolled her eyes. " _What is it, Jun?_ "

" _Okay, so, this just hit me and it's really driving me nuts. Me and Ui basically just started dating, but I've been sleeping with her for nearly two months now. Isn't that weird?_ "

Azusa sighed. " _Jun, I know that the word 'sleeping with' can mean different things to different people but you're literally_ sleeping _with her. You're not_ 'doing the deed' _or anything like that_. _I don't think this is an issue._ "

" _Yeah, but what about Nao and Sumire?_ "

" _What about them?_ "

" _Well, I'm not too worried about Sumire but what if_ Nao _asks about it? I can't take that poker face, Azusa. I don't think I'd be able to answer her._ "

Azusa nearly burst out laughing. _Of course_ Jun would be worried about that of all things. " _Jun, I'm just repeating myself at this point but like I said, this isn't an issue._ "

" _Seriously, Azusa. I can't deal with her. If that ever happens, promise me you'll help me._ "

Azusa rolled to her side, facing towards the wall. " _Good night, Jun._ "

" _Azusa, please._ "

" _Fiiine. I'll help if it ever becomes an issue, which it won't. Now, good night for real this time._ "

Azusa half expected Jun to continue speaking but, to her surprise, Jun stayed silent. Perhaps she wanted to let Azusa sleep? Or perhaps she felt that she should be asleep herself? Either way, Azusa was thankful to have had one last conversation before she finally let unconsciousness take her.

* * *

 **June 11**

* * *

"I know it's Azusa's turn to host the sleepover this Wednesday, but I was thinking that maybe we could go to my house instead."

Those were the words Jun said at breakfast that morning. Neither of the other two were opposed but they _were_ interested in her reasoning and were quick to ask.

"Well, my birthday is on Wednesday and my family is throwing me a party. Besides, my family kinda really wants to meet the two of you since I'm always sleeping at your houses."

Azusa nodded thoughtfully. "I don't see why not."

"Yeah. Sounds good," Ui said in agreement. "Oh, wait," she then added. "Do they know about... well, you and me?"

"My brother knows. He's really supportive, actually. Parents, though...?" Jun winced. "Mmm. Didn't tell them yet. Don't really wanna tell them."

Ui frowned worriedly. "Oh? Will this be a problem?"

Jun waved her hands dismissively. "No need to get so worked up about it. Let's just keep the hand holding and stuff to a minimum, okay?"

Azusa tilted her head curiously. "I don't suppose they approve of lesbians, do they?"

"Mmm. Again, didn't ask, don't really _want_ to ask."

Azusa raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

Breakfast resumed without further incident.

* * *

 **June 13**

* * *

"I realize that you have been sleeping together for two months now, but now that you've started dating, has anything changed?"

During afternoon tea, Nao directed that question to Jun and Ui, to which Jun face-desked and Ui palmed her cheeks and looked away. Azusa silently supressed her urge to laugh at this.

Ui cleared her throat awkwardly. "Nao, I... uh... that was a little tactless to ask. Please try to understand how embarrassing it is to be asked questions like that..."

Nao blinked, nodding slowly. "I see... I suppose that makes sense." She bowed. "I apologize if my curiosity was overbearing."

Ui quickly waved her hands dismissively. "Oh no, don't worry about it. Just be a little more considerate next time."

Jun raised her head from the table. "And for the record, _no_ , nothing has changed in our sleeping habits since we started dating."

Nao bowed once more. "Thank you, Jun-senpai. I was just about to ask if you were going to answer my previous question."

Azusa continued suppressing her laughter even as it grew more and more difficult to do so.

Sure, she hadn't kept her promise of helping Jun deal with Nao but at least she'd been right in that it wasn't an issue. An apology followed by an _I Told You So_ was definitely in store for Jun when they next had a moment alone together.

Band practice that afternoon continued without further incident.

* * *

 **June 14**

* * *

Ui sat in the clubroom, filling the morning silence with the sounds of her guitar. Jun was slumped over the table, snoring soundly. Azusa sat across from her, quietly humming along to Ui's song. The atmosphere was fairly pleasant.

"Hey, Azusa," Ui mumbled. "Do you have any extra strings? Caster needs hers changed soon."

Ui heard a giggle, prompting her to turn towards the table. "What's so funny?"

Azusa smiled, shaking her head. "It's nothing. I'm just surprised it took you this long to name your guitar. We bought that two months ago."

Ui pouted. "You didn't name Mu-tan 'til you met sis and you had her for years. I don't think it's that strange."

Azusa shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

"What do you think Jun's bass is called?" Ui wondered. "Pearl maybe?"

Azusa raised an eyebrow. "Because it's white?"

Ui nodded tentatively, returning her attention to playing. "I think it'd be a cute name."

A tired groan came from Jun. "I think it's cute tooooo~"

Azusa and Ui shared an amused look. With a small chuckle, Azusa reached over the table and poked the top of Jun's head. "Are you even really asleep, Jun?"

Another groan came from Jun, followed by her standing up, moving to the couch next to Ui, and resting her head on Ui's lap.

Azusa watched, taking another sip. "You just gonna sit there?"

Ui sweatdropped. "Well, it's actually pretty comfortable. The only problem is that I can't play anymore."

Azusa gave Ui a sardonic smile. "Should I say _'Oh the tragedy'?_ "

Ui giggled once more. "Oh, stop it, you."

"Yeah, Azusaaa... hahhhhh~" Jun yawned. "Don't be such a stick in the mud."

"Seriously, Jun, you're not even sleeping. Just drink your tea already before it gets cold."

Ui patted Jun's head. "She's right, Jun. It would be a shame if the tea I made went to waste."

Jun opened one eye, pouting cutely as she did so. "No fair, double teaming me like that."

With a chuckle, Ui booped Jun on the nose. "All is fair in love and war," she whispered gently. "And I do believe that we're in love."

Jun chuckled as well. "Yeah, we are. Guess it's fair after all."

Ui thought for but a moment as a realization hit her. She felt the entire world still as her eyes met Jun's. On both of their faces, a look of shock and surprise slowly came to be. Did their exchange really go the way she thought it just did?

Behind them, Azusa spoke, concern edging into her voice. "Uh... you suddenly two got quiet. Something wrong?"

With nervous quickness, Jun jerked upright and jumped to her feet. "Nothing's wrong!" She mechanically back to the table.

Ui set down her guitar, muttering, "I just told her we... And she just agreed..."

She looked to Jun who had just downed her tea, expression still the same as before. She then looked to Azusa whose gaze jumped from Jun and Ui, eyebrows raised.

Ui could sense the gears turning in the petite guitarist's mind. No doubt she was piecing together what had gotten them flustered. It didn't take long before she nodded slowly, taking a sip of her drink and turning away.

Azusa laid her cup onto the table and released a deep breath. "Is it alright if I go out for a bit? Need some air," she asked stiffly, not looking at either of them.

Ui couldn't do much other than blink, mouth agape. Her voice refused to work. Jun was of the same disposition.

Azusa probably took their silence as a 'yes' as she stood and made for the door. "Excuse me..."

A short pause after the door close, there was a shrill but muffled squeal of delight from outside the club room. " _Oh my god! It's happened! I can't believe I was there for that!_ "

Ui did her best to ignore the sounds but couldn't help but smile with embarrassment. Azusa never made any attempt to hide her happiness for them but the way she reacted made it seem like the words Ui and Jun spoke were addressed to _her_ rather than each other. Then again, Azusa always did have a weird relationship with affection. Ui really should not have been surprised.

Ui's attention was quickly taken by Jun who asked, "Did you really just say you loved me?"

Ui's mouth twitched as struggled put her thoughts to words. After several false starts, she eventually croaked and nodded. "That was the implication, yes..."

"Did I really just say I loved you back?"

Ui nodded again. "That was also the implication, yes."

"Was it true?" Jun asked, seeming increasingly shaky. It was almost as if she didn't believe it.

"I... uh... It was true for me."

"It was for me too." Jun swayed slightly and quickly brought a foot to the side to steady herself. "Oh my god, we're in love. We're actually in love."

Ui had rushed to Jun's side the moment she saw the bassist stumble. She quickly grabbed both shoulders. "Jun, stay with me here. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just," Jun managed a weak grin, "in love..."

The joke did nothing to curb Ui's worry. "I'm bringing you to the nurse's office."

Ui grabbed Jun's hand and started walking. Jun followed for two steps before slipping out of Ui's grasp.

"Seriously I'm fine. I'm really happy. It was all just kinda shocking." Jun made a show of balancing on one leg. "See? No more dizziness."

Ui pouted. "Jun, you ate a single piece of toast this morning. I can go get some pastries if you're feeling light headed."

"I'm telling you _I'm fine_. I-"

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. The door opened a crack and Azusa poked her head inside. "You two are _really_ cute and I'm _really_ happy for you but I still need to finish my tea. Please just kiss already and get it over with?"

Ui immediately felt heat rise to her face. "A-azusa!"

"Why'd you have to ruin the mood!?"

Azusa smiled wryly and went back outside. "You know what? Jun, you can have the rest of my tea. I'll let you two talk it out amongst yourselves..."

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

* * *

 **According to the K-on wiki, Jun's birthday is probably in April because one of her character songs say that her zodiac sign is capricorn. But it's not confirmed so I can still go off the assumption that her birthday is actually in June. Specifically June 15. No, there is no other meaning to making it June 15 other than making sure it's a Wednesday, allowing the other two to sleep over at Jun's house.**

 **Next chapter will be the Jun birthday slumber party! Probably...  
**

 **Special thanks to PUM (Asianpotter1) for doing a second pass for spelling and grammar. Thanks as well to Agelity for doing a third pass and giving feedback regarding the chapter.**

 **Until the next chapter guys! Hope it doesn't take another six months.**


	8. Downplay the Morning Fervor

**Hello, dear readers. Here's the first chapter of the Jun's-Birthday arc. Enjoy if you can.**

* * *

 ** _Wednesday. June 15. Morning of Jun's Birthday_**

* * *

 **6:03 AM**

* * *

Jun awoke that morning, startled upon the realization that she was up early. It was so early, in fact, that her alarm hadn't gone off yet and she had two entire hours before school started that day. It had to have been some sort of supernatural phenomenon or intervening divinity that caused it since she _never_ woke up that early — not even when sleeping over at Azusa's or Ui's.

Jun rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Uhhg. Day of my birthday and I don't even get to sleep in." With a quiet groan, she got out of bed and trudged towards the bathroom.

Minutes later, after brushing her teeth and finally washing away the drowsiness from her face, she went down to the kitchen with the intention of heating up a cup of ramen. It wasn't the healthiest of breakfast options but she was sure no one else was awake and she wasn't in the mood to prepare her own meal.

Surprisingly, however, her mother, Mamiko was working away at the stove, the familiar sounds and smells of meat and vegetables reaching her eyes and nose before she even entered the room. Jun could have sworn Mamiko wouldn't begin cooking breakfast for around another hour.

"G'mornin'," Jun greeted, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Up already?" Mamiko asked from her place at the stove. "Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?" She smiled ever so slightly and turned to Jun. "It's good that you're awake, though. You get to have the first serving for once."

The sides of Jun's lips twitched upward at the thought. Among the members of the Suzuki household, Jun was usually the last person awake. This meant that she had to make do with the scraps of whatever breakfast her mother had prepared for them.

As she waited for her mother to finish cooking the food, she flipped open her phone and began messaging Azusa and Ui. Again, to her surprise, they were already awake and had sent her birthday greetings some minutes prior to her checking of her inbox. Azusa's message was curt and Ui's had lots of emoticons. Jun quickly sent them replies.

"Your brother suggested we serve you a breakfast-in-bed this morning." Jun heard the stove turn off and Mamiko begin scooping meat and vegetables onto plates. "Though, if I knew you were going to wake up this early, I would have started earlier. I was just about to get to work on some pancakes when you came in."

Jun looked up from her phone and shrugged. "Geh. Don't blame me. _I_ wanted to sleep in."

"You're welcome to go back to bed," Mamiko said, laying a plate on the table in front of Jun. "I can't exactly give you a breakfast-in-bed when you're in the kitchen."

"Nah." Jun flipped her phone closed and put it away. "Having first serving's enough of a birthday gift for me. And this time, I gave it to myself."

Mamiko chuckled and took a seat across the table from Jun. "As long as you're happy."

They put their hands together, said their thanks, and began eating. Breakfast was as delicious as Jun expected.

* * *

 **6:45 AM**

* * *

Azusa entered the club room expecting to see Jun and Ui but was surprised to find that that it was empty. Breakfast had taken her at least twenty minutes longer than she intended it to. Based on the few messages she, Jun, and Ui shared that morning, she thought the other two had left their homes earlier than Azusa did. Obviously she was mistaken.

Azusa watched the morning sunlight stream through the windows, giving the room an old and cozy feeling. There was still an hour before classes started and the only a few people were on campus at the moment — just the school sports teams and and of the usual early birds. From the sounds about her, she might have been the only person on her side of the school building.

She shrugged and removed her guitar from her case. Moments, later, she set up the amp and started playing a version of the song that had convinced her to join the light music club during her first year at Sakuragaoka. Her Yui-senpai had forgotten to sing her line and Mio-senpai had to take over the first verse. Even considering that, their sound was so full of heart that Azusa couldn't help but be impressed.

To think it had been less than three months since her senpai had graduated. She missed them so much already.

 _" I try recalling the things I've done up until now_ _  
and every time that I do I wish you were around  
My staples have all disappeared  
But I'll get more  
And I'll see you once again "_

Azusa sighed and stopped playing. "The lyrics are painfully fitting," she realized. "Why is it that Mio-senpai always wrote love songs like this...?"

With a shake of her head, she resumed the song, deciding not to sing along to it this time.

Several minutes and a few songs later, Ui arrived with Jun, both of whom looking rather flushed and out of breath. They didn't seem upset, however. In fact, they looked rather pleased. This set off alarm bells in Azusa's mind.

"Mornin' Azusa," Jun said with a foolish grin on her face. Ui was in a similar state, smiling and giggling to herself.

"Good morning," Azusa greeted stiffly, eyebrows furrowed and raised. "Um... you two look tired for some reason."

"Me, tired? Nah. I feel wide awake. See?" Jun made a show of slapping her cheeks and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "What about you, Ui?"

"Nothing to worry about, Azusa. We're fine."

Azusa fidgeted in her seat. She was somehow made even more worried by their unconvincing excuses than she would have been had they never made them.

"Alright, you're both kinda freaking me out and my mind's jumping to one conclusion after another. What did you guys _do_?"

Both of them turned even more flushed. "I... uh... We sorta..." Jun made another vague gesture with her hands — a different one from before. How did she keep coming up with new ones?

"Jun, put down your hands and tell the truth. I'll be able to tell when you're lying."

Jun looked taken aback. "What? Really-"

" _Really_ ," Azusa insisted. "Whenever you lie, you get this odd smile on your face. Ui, back me up on this."

Ui frowned. "Wait, that's the tell for when she lies?" She turned to Jun. "You said you'd only been waiting for me for five minutes on our first date. How long did you really wait?"

"I..." Jun shot Azusa a pleading look to which Azusa merely shrugged to in response. "Uh... Ten minutes... or something...?"

As if to prove Azusa's point, Jun smiled the same odd smile Azusa had described — lopsided and closed-mouth.

" _Jun,_ " Ui said, pouting.

Jun looked away and relented. "Maybe closer to thirty minutes..."

Ui hummed in dissatisfaction. "You really didn't need to wait that long. I was late, too!"

"Pshh, you were late for like five minutes. Seriously, Ui, it's not a big deal. No one forced me to wait that long. I did it because I was excited."

"But I could have also arrived earlier and we could have spent more time together."

"Oh yeah. Now that you mention it-"

Azusa pursed her lips and held Mu-tan close to her chest, feeling an uncomfortable heat well up inside her. If she let them start, she'd never be able to get them to stop — not because they wouldn't stop when she asked but because she wouldn't _want_ them to stop.

"Alright, before you two get all lovey-dovey, can we _please_ talk about why you two looked like you had an intense workout right before entering this club room?"

Jun shifted her weight, scratching the back of her head. The blush from earlier returned. "Yeah. You're not actually too far off with that."

"What?"

Ui, in a similar state to Jun, stepped forward, eyes averted timidly. "I gave Jun sort of... uh... _birthday present_ earlier..."

Azusa blinked. _Birthday present_? What kind of birthday present could have possibly caused them to start acting the way they were acting? Azusa's mind raced for an answer and eventually came to one. Heat rose to her face at the thought.

"Ui's gift," she muttered. "Did she...? Did you two...?" She raised a nervous hand and wiggled her index and middle fingers. "You know... _Did you_?" She looked away.

"Wait, what is...?" Jun mimicked Azusa's gesture with her fingers in confusion. She then looked down at her hand, eyes wide in realization. "Oh... _Oh_." She released a nervous laugh and began waving her hands quickly in dismissal. "Yeah, no. Azusa, no. Just... no... _No_."

"Oh dear." Ui put her hands on her cheeks and shook her head. "No. I don't think I'm ready for that yet..."

"Azusa, please tell me you weren't just being a perv by asking that."

Azusa set her guitar to the side and stood. "Well what was I _supposed_ to think? You two come in here red-faced and panting and I learn that Ui gave you a birthday present. How could I possibly _not_ misinterpret that?"

"She _kissed me_ , Azusa," Jun quickly cut, jerking both her hands to either side of her face. "We kissed in an underused stairwell on the other side of the school. We didn't do... _that_..."

"Oh... Okay..."

There was a pause in the conversation as the three merely looked at each other awkwardly, unable to respond to what had been said. Sounds of the sports teams practicing outside still came through the window though the ambient noise within the school seemed to have gotten louder. More of the students were starting to arrive.

"Was it a _good_ kiss?" Azusa eventually muttered, looking away.

" _God_ , you're worse than Nao, sometimes."

* * *

 **8:33am**

* * *

Ui fidgeted in her seat as the topic for her first period English class failed to occupy her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about Jun and how she had taken the initiative and kissed her that morning. It felt good, taking the lead for once. Maybe she could do it again during lunch-

With a shake of her head, Ui swatted away those thoughts and snapped back into reality. She still had classes to worry about. No matter how giddy it made her feel to remember to kiss they shared that morning, she still needed to keep a straight face and not disturb the class with her restless emotions.

Though, she was glad she was not the only one who seemed completely distracted.

Across the room, Azusa had her head propped up by her her arm, the expression on her face as distant and hollow as the Japanese dolls she so hated being compared to. She even had the blush on her cheeks the way a lot of dolls did. It was actually kind of cute how statuesque Azusa could seem when she was daydreaming. She was so lost in her fantasy that her body was left unmoving in reality.

On the other side of the room, closer to the front was Jun, who seemed twitchy and excitable. She'd often turn to face Ui or Azusa when the teacher wasn't looking. She was being discreet about it but she was doing it with such frequency that it was impossible for the teacher not to have noticed. Her _classmates_ definitely noticed but at least kept quiet. Ui would do the same, if only to save Jun a few extra minutes before the teacher called her out.

Once again, Ui shook her head. She was getting distracted again. She needed to concentrate on the lesson, not muse on the mental states of her two best friends.

Attention once again returned to the teacher lecturing in front, Ui resumed taking notes. Her attention eventually shifted and she got distracted again but at least she tried.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

* * *

 **So I have plans to release a chapter every week on this month of June just like last year. I'm not sure how well my plans are going to fall through but considering how quickly I was able to finish this chapter after I started (a day), I'm hopeful.**

 **Jun's mother and father are unnamed in the source material so I had to base it on Jun and her brother, Atsushi. That being said, I layered a number of references in Mamiko's name. Some of them are fairly obvious if you've watched the right anime. Some of them are esoteric and I'd be surprised if anyone ever guesses. You get a cookie if you do. (members of the K-on! Discord who helped me brainstorm are disqualified)**

 **Thanks to Zaulte (FalseAlarm00) for making the second pass for any grammar and spelling errors.**

 **Next chapter next week, hopefully. See you then.**


	9. The Calm Between Storms

**Whoops, I wanted this out Wednesday. Oh well. June 15 works as well. Jun's birthday part 2. Enjoy if you can.**

* * *

 ** _Wednesday. June 15. Day Jun's Birthday_** **  
**

* * *

 **6:57AM**

* * *

"Hey, uh, Ui...? Where are we going?" Jun asked as Ui pulled her by the hand to the far side of the school building.

"S-somewhere private," Ui said, unexpectedly timid in her reply despite how assertively she was dragging Jun along. "I have something to give you."

"Is it a present my birthday?"

"Y-yeah... Something like that..."

Upon arriving at at an underused stairwell, Ui quickly grabbed Jun's shoulders and pinned her to the wall. She stared straight at Jun with a flushed face and eyes the shined with fiery determination.

Jun blinked. She had immediately understood what Ui was planning, though she felt a drop of worry fall into the pit of her stomach. "You're not forcing yourself to do this, are you...?"

Ui pursed her lips for a moment before giving Jun a small smile. "Maybe a little. I'm really nervous."

Jun managed a small smile of her own. She didn't need to be told Ui was nervous. The hands pinning her to the wall were trembling against her shoulders. She could easily tell just from that.

"But I want to do this. I really do." Ui's blush deepened even as her determined expression grew even more determined. "You're always the one kissing me. I wanna be the one to kiss you this time."

Jun stared, feeling inexplicably intense excitement at the expression Ui was showing her. She was tempted to turn the tables and pin _Ui_ to the wall and kiss _her_. It was just too cute. But she knew that'd only be ruining the gift Ui was trying to give her. She settled with a simple chuckle and shake of her head.

"Well, when you put it like that... Alright." Jun closed her eyes. "Do it. Kiss me, Ui"

* * *

 **4:34**

* * *

Jun shook her head as, again, the events from that morning flashed before her eyes. She had been fidgety ever since and the feeling didn't seem to be subsiding. It was getting her in trouble with the teachers. And Azusa.

"Are you back to reality yet? We're supposed to be practicing."

Jun smirked mischievously, putting a hand to her mouth. "You say that but we're all still at the table having tea and cake."

Across the table, Azusa pouted, looking away. "R-right."

As if spurred by her own embarrassment, she quickly finished off her slice of chocolate cake and stood. "I'm going to get ready. You guys need to hurry up, okay?"

"That girl's gotta relax." Jun giggled and brought a fork-full of cake to her mouth.

"You should relax too, you know?" Ui said from next to Jun. She poured more tea into Jun's cup and then to her own. "You seem just as tense as Azusa."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jun said innocently as she shifted her weight on her chair. It was a lie. She knew _exactly_ what Ui was talking about.

Ui leaned towards Jun and started pinching the bassist's cheek. "That smile really doesn't look good on your face, Jun."

Jun instinctively brought her own hand to the one pinching her. "Ow- Hey! I'm just excited about later, okay!? Stop that!"

"Ah, right." Ui relented her hold on Jun's face. "There's that party later. Almost forgot."

"I'm excited to introduce all of you to my brother."

Across the table, the two first years perked up. Sumire and Nao both spoke simultaneously.

"There's going to be a party?"

"You have a brother?"

Jun's smile quickly faltered at the stares both Sumire and Nao were shooting her. Nao's specifically had an odd twinkle in her eyes.

"Y-yeah. I have a brother. Why?"

Nao nodded thoughtfully at that for some reason. "Nothing... Just curious," she eventually said.

Jun stared, blinking in confusion for a moment before shrugging and returning to her cake. Just a few more mouthfuls left. She should really savor it.

"I suppose we should have told you both," Ui muttered to the underclassmen as the ate the last of her own slice. "It's Jun's birthday today. Her parents are throwing a big dinner party for her at her house later. She invited us over."

"I didn't mean to exclude you guys," Jun quickly cut in with a cough, almost choking when she suddenly swallowed her cake that she had been trying to eat slowly. "I just forgot and Azusa and Ui didn't think to remind me."

"Oh, you're blaming us now?" From the bench, Azusa shot Jun an unamused look before returning to tune her guitar. "You never said you'd be inviting them."

Jun turned her nose at that. "I never said I wouldn't be either." She smiled to the first years. "Anyway, you two up for it?"

The two thought on it for a moment. Sumire answered first. "I'd love to, but I'd need to ask permission first."

Nao frowned, looking down. "I'm sorry. I can't. My parents aren't home during weekdays. I need to watch over the house... and my brothers."

Jun blinked. "You have brothers?"

Nao looked away. "Yes... I do believe I've explained that before."

Jun glanced to Ui who awkwardly nodded. Yes, Nao did, in fact, explain that she had younger siblings before and Jun had just completely forgotten about it.

 _Whoops_ , Jun thought to herself with a rueful smile.

"Be sure to have a lot of fun for me, okay?" Nao said with a small smile, looking down. A small blush was slowly blooming on her face.

"D'aww," Ui cooed. "You sound like my parents, Nao."

Nao's blush deepened and Jun had to suppress the urge to pinch Nao's cheeks. Jun glanced to Ui and it seemed like her girlfriend was in a similar state to herself — paralyzed by cuteness.

"Hurry up and finish, will you? Birthday or not, we're still going to practice today."

Azusa quickly snapped them both out of their daze.

"R-right."

Jun ate her last mouthful and moved to the play area, Ui and Sumire following. Nao got to work on clearing the table.

"I hope you two don't mind but I took the liberty of tuning your guitars."

"That's sweet of you, Azusa. I'm sure Caster appreciated it."

Jun smirked. "You think Mu-tan got jealous that you're playing around with other instruments?"

Azusa snorted. "If it's _your_ guitars, he's fine with it."

Jun chuckled and slung her bass over her shoulder. She then fished her pockets for her guitar pick. When she didn't find it, she checked under the bags on the bench. It wasn't there either. She must have lost it again.

"Welp, that makes it the third pick this month," Jun muttered. She then pulled out a ten yen coin, flipped it in the air, caught it, and sighed. "Alright, I'm ready."

They all nodded at each other and Sumire tapped her drumsticks against each other three times. Practice began and continued with no further incident.

* * *

 **5:03**

* * *

Jun huffed as they got on the bus right before it left the bus stop. "We were supposed to be there by now," she grumbled taking a free seat near the middle.

"Whose fault do you think it is that we _aren't_ there yet?" Azusa snapped, taking the seat across the aisle.

"Now now, Azusa." Ui took the seat next to Azusa, putting a hand on the petite guitarist's shoulder. "You enjoyed yourself as much as the rest of us."

Azusa tried to maintain a scowl for a moment before it devolved into cute pout. "Shut up," she muttered, turning away.

Jun giggled, shaking her head. That practice session, they had played their new song better than they had ever played it. Azusa had gotten a little intense. If Jun did not have things she was more excited about, she would have taken at least a moment to savor Azusa's rare displays of passion for music. Oh well. There was time enough for that later. She had other things to worry about for now.

She was late for her own birthday party and she was about to introduce her parents to the two people she had been sleeping with for just over two months now. The bus ride home was understandably tense.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

* * *

 **So, I noticed a bunch of changes to the K-on wiki from the last time I checked. It now lists Jun's birthday as April 8 which is completely at odds with the premise of this arc. I'm just going to ignore it but I'll keep it in mind in any future fics that somehow Jun's birthday.**

 **How are you liking the short-long-short scene format I've been keeping for this arc? Years ago, when I still had more writing stamina, that's how I used to handle my weekly ( and sometimes twice a week) updates. Oh how the mighty have fallen.**

 **Next part next week. Hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next one.**


	10. Open Doors

**This chapter ended up being super long so I split it into two. Here's birthday arc part 3. Enjoy if you can.**

* * *

 ** _Wednesday. June 15. Day Jun's Birthday_** **  
**

* * *

 **5:16PM**

* * *

The three stood before a four story building. The upper floors looked completely average but the ground floor was a bakery built to look like it was medieval, with a facade of worn wooden walls and stone support pillars.

Azusa had to admit, it looked really good — as if it were ripped straight out of a fantasy adventure movie. It was just that it looked completely at odds with the modern Japanese house aesthetic of rest of the neighborhood. The building was even at odds with its own aesthetic since only the first floor was made to look medieval.

And apparently, it was Jun's house?

Somehow, Azusa was not at all surprised to find out that Jun's family owned a bakery.

It was unexpected, of course. Like, why would Azusa ever think to expect it? Jun never mentioned that she came from a family of bakers and never had a reason to — Azusa and Ui never asked and it never came up in conversation.

Thinking on it, though, she realized it did kind of make sense. Jun had always had a fixation with pastries and a penchant for the dramatic. It had to have come from somewhere. That her family owned a bakery that looked like it was from a completely different time period and country was a rather neat and tidy explanation for it.

"You coming in or should I leave you a few more minutes to look at the display pastries?"

Azusa blinked, realizing that she had gotten distracted while standing in front of the display window showing a shelf full of bread. That had to have been _at least_ the fifth time that day — way too frequent for Azusa's liking.

"R-right. Sorry."

Jun waved a dismissive hand. "S'okay, Azusa. Sometimes, I fall into a daze while staring at the display pastries too." She looked down and cupped her chin. "Actually, now that I think about it, that hasn't happened since I graduated middle school..."

Azusa smiled wryly. "If that was an attempt to make me feel better, you failed."

Jun smirked, shooting Azusa two finger guns. "You're smiling though. I didn't _completely_ fail."

"Why, Jun, this is a smile of ever increasing annoyance," Azusa said in the most polite voice she could muster.

Jun frowned and stepped back at that. "You're not _really_ annoyed are you...?"

Azusa chuckled. " _No_ , Jun. I'm not really annoyed. Relax."

"You really do worry too much, Jun," Ui added. "You're fine."

Jun pouted. She crossed her arms and dramatically turned a nose. "I can't help it, alright?" She then added in a grumble, "And you two don't need to make fun of me."

Ui patted Jun's cheek playfully. "We do it only because your reactions are cute." Jun didn't reply but her face seemed to redden slightly.

The door to the bakery opened and a head peeked outside. "I hate to interrupt you love birds but you should really get inside." It was a man with short brown hair tied down with a bandana. He turned to Jun. "You're late. Mom's been waiting for you."

"Whoops?" Jun said innocently as she scratched her head and tried not to meet anyone's eyes. "H-hey there... dear old brother of mine..."

The man — Jun's brother, apparently — rolled his eyes and stepped out to grab hold of Jun's shoulder. "Just get in here." He pulled Jun into the bakery and smiled to Azusa and Ui. "I'm Atsushi Suzuki. Pleasure to meet you both. Come on inside. Our mom's expecting you" He left the door open as he dragged Jun inside.

Azusa didn't know whether to be concerned or amused. "What a strange way to be introduced to someone," she muttered, shifting her weight.

Ui tilted her head. " _Better_ or _worse_ than your introduction to the light music club three years ago?"

Azusa flashed back to the week before the freshmen orientation show wherein she encountered her future clubmates and senpai acting weird and playing their instruments poorly.

"You know what, Ui? Better. Absolutely better."

Both of them shared a chuckle and followed Jun and Atsushi into building, their path leading to the set of stairs behind the counter at very back of the shop area. They didn't get much time to examine the shop area of the bakery but she could see the shelves were filled with bread and the distinct aroma in the air of flour, eggs, sugar, and breadcrumbs left both Azusa and Ui feeling mildly peckish.

Eventually, they arrived at the actual living area of the Suzuki residence and found that it was surprisingly small. Majority of the floor space was dedicated to a kitchen table that was a little bit too big for the number of people who lived in the house and they didn't even have a proper living room. They just had a few cushions on a carpeted floor with a TV placed in a convenient spot that could be viewed from both the cushions and the table in the kitchen.

It wasn't to say it was small. It was just smaller than Ui's.

Then Azusa found herself staring, fascinated to an unsettling degree, at what she would describe to be a woman who looked just like Jun Suzuki except slightly taller with longer hair and sharper eyes. What made it even more unsettling was the fact that the actual Jun Suzuki was standing right next to the woman, gesturing dramatically towards her as if showing her off.

"Behold, the glory that is my mother," Jun announced to Azusa and Ui. Both of them sweatdropped at this.

The woman stepped forward. "Hello. I'm Mamiko Suzuki. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"G-good evening," Azusa greeted. She then bowed stiffly. "Thank you for having us." Ui also bowed.

"My, my, how polite. Jun, be a dear and help them get settled. I'll call you down once dinner is ready. Maybe I'll have Atsushi bring you some snacks in a bit."

Jun tilted her head curiously. "Snacks? Isn't that gonna ruin our appetite?"

Mamiko smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Do you _not_ want snacks?"

Jun shrugged. "Can't argue with that. C'mon, guys." She once again began leading the two up more flights of stairs.

Azusa hesitated in following, her gaze lingering on Mamiko who had returned working on dinner. She was moving in and around the kitchen with the same practiced grace Azusa had seen in people like Ui, Sumire, and Mugi. It was so odd to think that the woman was Jun's mother. She seemed so different from energetic and somewhat scatterbrained bassist.

Azusa shook her head and hurried up the steps to catch up. There'd time enough for those thoughts later.

* * *

Jun's home, Ui quickly realized, did not have a lot of floor space — not in the same way that Azusa's house or Ui's own house did at least. Each individual room had plenty of space, of course. The total space of the rooms on any given floor, however, was much smaller.

The reason Ui ended up thinking this was because of how the hallways leading to Jun's room were cramped in a way that forced Ui to walk behind Jun. There wasn't space to comfortably walk side-by-side.

Thankfully, it didn't take all that long to arrive at Jun's room. It was just up two flights of stairs and a few paces down a hallway.

"Oi, Azusa, hurry it up," Jun said with a cheeky grin.

Across the hall was Azusa who had just finished climbing the stairs. She glared at Jun as she approached. "Give me a break. Your stairs are steep and I have shorter legs than you two."

Jun waved a dismissive hand. "Hey, no worries. We're not going anywhere."

"I don't know why but I'm kinda excited to see what your room is like," Ui found herself saying.

Jun averted her eyes and scratched her head. "Eh... Don't expect anything special. Didn't really tidy up my room or anything. Figured you guys'd be fine with it."

Azusa crossed her arms in thought. "Well, considering how you treat _our_ rooms, I don't really see how your own could be all that bad."

Jun smiled wryly. "Oh, you say that _now_ but when you actually see it? I'm not too sure." She put her hand on the door handle and slid it open a sliver. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

When the door opened completely, Ui stepped back in shock.

It wasn't so much the the room was appalling disorganized — just a few pieces of unused clothing hanging off of furniture, two books that had stayed from the shelves, and a bed whose sheets were still wrinkly despite an obvious attempt at smoothing it out. All things considered, it was relatively clean, if in-need of some improvements.

What really got to Ui was the _aura_ of the room. It was like a wave of stimulation had slammed into her and assaulted her senses — she wasn't sure _which_ senses but was willing to say it was probably all of them. From the shade of green of the walls to the mingling scent of chocolate and sweat — it was just so completely, concentratedly, overwhelmingly _Jun_ that she couldn't help but be taken aback.

Next to her, Azusa also looked visibly shaken by the door opening.

"Right, c'mon in," Jun said, gesturing dramatically to her room. "I welcome you both to my humble abode."

The two set their bags down with Jun's on the table in the corner and took a seat on the bed — a bed that was so soft and fluffy that they sank a full twenty centimeters into the mattress.

"Now I know why Jun seems to move so much in her sleep," Azusa muttered. "It's like this bed's trying to eat me alive."

Ui managed a smile and nodded in agreement.

Ui found that it was difficult to concentrate. Every breath she took was shaky and sent her heart aflutter. It was somewhat dizzying, to be honest. She was thankful that she was sitting down.

"You guys brought a change of clothes, right?" Jun asked, snapping Ui out of her daze. She picked up the dark grey t-shirt hanging off of her desk chair. "If not, I've got plenty of spare pajamas. I'm just not sure if they'd fit you, Ui. We could always try though."

Ui blinked as she tried to parsed those words, her pulse quickening upon doing so — which was a little concerning since thought of wearing Jun's clothes didn't normally cause her heart rate to jump up like it did.

"Y-yes, I, uh... I have a change of clothes. I was thinking of waiting on changing until after I take a bath, though."

Azusa also chimed in. "I'll be sticking to my uniform for now too."

Jun shrugged and began unbuttoning her shirt. "Well, you guys do your thing. Like my mom said, she'll call us down once dinner is ready."

Ui felt her body tense up and no doubt Azusa felt it too.

"Ui, what going on?" Azusa whispered in concern.

"I'm just a little antsy. I don't know why but being in this room is making me all excited."

Azusa pursed her lips. "You feel it too, huh? This must be how Jun felt when we first started sleeping over at my house."

Ui remembered Jun acting all clingy and touchy-feely on the first night they slept at Azusa's house. Thanks to Yui's daily desire for hugs, both Ui and Azusa were used to dealing with touchy-feely girls so they weren't really bothered by it. Jun was generally not that touchy feely, though. They didn't think much of it at the time. Thinking now about how being in _Jun's_ room made _Ui_ feel, however, it suddenly made sense why Jun was acting different.

Ui felt her face heat up. "You think she'd mind if I act that way with her now?"

Azusa flashed a small smile. "I don't know if she'd _mind_ but I doubt she'll dislike it."

"Would _you_ mind?"

"I... I guess not?"

Ui nodded. "Right..."

She jolted to her feet, startling both Azusa and Jun, the former of whom was pushed off balance due to Ui's weight no longer being on the bed, and the latter of whom had just finished switching out her skirt for some shorts.

"Ui, what's wro-?"

Jun did not get a chance to finish her sentence as Ui pulled her into an alarmingly passionate kiss.

That was not what Ui planned to do...

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

* * *

 **Well, that was a thing. Beta-read by Asianpotter1 (PUM). Hope you all enjoyed it so far. Final part should be out within a week.**


	11. Open Arms

**It's like a week into July at this point so I definitely missed my one week window. Blame my computer hard drive for dying on me.**

 **Well, it's out now. Enjoy if you can.**

* * *

 **June 15, Night of Jun's birthday**

* * *

 **7:07 PM**

* * *

Conversation during dinner with the Suzuki family was strange — or at least strange for Azusa.

She was relatively used to boisterous voices being thrown across the table thanks to being part of the Light Music Club for over two years. Between dealing with two of her energetic senpai, Ritsu and Yui, and this year dealing with Jun, she felt right at home in such chaos. But when the other Suzuki were thrown into the mix, things became a bit different.

She wouldn't quite say that they were unruly — though an argument could certainly be made for that case. No. If Azusa were to describe them, she'd say they seemed… _confrontational_ …

They had a sort of air about them that made it seem like they wanted to argue about something. Jun displayed traces of such behavior so it wasn't a complete surprise but it was never at the same intensity as she was displaying at the moment.

"Well, _excuse me_ for liking your cooking," Jun snapped. "If you don't want me eating so much then maybe you shouldn't make your food so delicious."

Mamiko responded to the strangely aggressive compliment in kind.

"I want to give the best to my daughter but there's always too much of a good thing. It might be your birthday but that doesn't give you free reign to gorge yourself. That food will be there tomorrow."

"No it won't," Atsushi said, reaching across the table for another bowl of rice. He smiled slyly. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Next to Azusa, Ui murmured, "I'm getting a lot of mixed messages here…"

Azusa shot her a small smile. Suffice it to say, Ui wasn't the only one confused by the situation.

"You'll want to pace yourself if you want desert," the man at the head of the table said, the first words he spoke since he was introduced.

The man was named Soujirou and he was Jun's father. He had the same messy, stringy hair and cheeky grin as Jun and looked surprisingly young. He was probably a man in his early forties based on Jun turning eighteen that day but looked no older than thirty. Mamiko looked really young too, now that Azusa thought about it, but Soujirou somehow looked younger.

Jun failed to suppress a laugh. "Pfft. Yeah right. C'mon Dad, you _know_ we have a separate stomach for dessert."

"Yeah," Atsushi chimed in agreement.

The man stared with his ever present smile and shook his head. "Don't blame me if you end up getting a stomach ache," he muttered, returning to his meal.

"Come to think of it," Azusa found herself muttering. "Jun _does_ have the biggest appetite out of the three of us. If _this_ is her home environment, it kinda makes sense…"

Ui chewed her food thoughtfully, humming as she did so. "I don't disagree but… Mmm. Wouldn't that mean she's kinda holding back when she eats at _our_ places?"

Azusa frowned and twirled her chopsticks unsurely. "Possibly…?" She shrugged. "I don't know… She's right here, though. Why don't we just ask? Hey, Jun."

Jun raised her head from her bowl if miso soup. "Hmm?"

"We were wondering why you don't eat this much while sleeping over at our houses."

Jun blinked and leaned back into her chair. She fidgeted. "Well… I didn't want to eat your pantries clean. It's not like you're gonna let me starve so I might as well hold back and save you the trouble…"

Azusa rolled her eyes. "Jun, we go grocery shopping together. If you wanted more, all you had to do was put more stuff in our shopping list."

"Yeah, but that'd cost _money_."

" _Everything_ costs money."

"To be fair, Azusa," Ui chimed. "Jun usually spends most of her allowance money on snacks. I think it evens out."

"How are _snacks_ equivalent to a balanced meal?"

Ui looked down at her almost empty rice bowl. "Well… They're not," she admitted.

Jun raised her hand. "Can I say something? Did you guys just not hear me when I said you guys weren't starving me?"

"That's _beside the point_ , Jun," Ui insisted. "There'll come a time when you'll sleep over and you're hungrier than you usually are and eating the food I make won't satisfy you because it _wasn't enough_. I'll never be able figure out how much food to make for you if you keep holding back."

Jun looked at Ui in confusion. Azusa, too, had to admit that Ui lost her a little with that spiel. Somehow the subject changed from Jun not eating as much as she can to... whatever Ui was talking about…

Mamiko interjected. "She's right, dear. It's a point of pride in any self-respecting housewife to always be able to prepare a satisfying meal for her family."

Azusa's eyebrows rose and Jun and Ui's face flushed at the implication that Ui was their housewife. The three shot each other nervous glances. Did Mamiko _know_ or…?

An awkward silence permeated the table for a few seconds before Soujirou broke it.

"So… Dessert is ice cream," he said casually, standing up from his seat. He walked to the fridge and pulled out three tubs of ice cream. "We've got mint chocolate chip, strawberry, and double dutch. I'm opening the mint one first."

Jun stood and slammed her palms dramatically on the table. "No fair! You're gonna clean out that tub before I get any!"

The man laughed as he scooped himself a large bowl. "Then don't take a third serving."

The earlier conversation was discarded as both Jun and Atsushi started shoveling food into their mouths. Mamiko giggled and Azusa and Ui could only sweat drop at the sight.

After dinner, Soujiro went back down to finish closing the bakery for the night. Jun and Atsushi went over by the TV, both with a bowl of ice cream in hand. Azusa and Ui stayed in the kitchen, offering to help Mamiko with the dishes.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Mamiko said reassuringly. "And besides, you're both guests. I'd sooner step down as a housewife before I let either of you do the chores for me."

Azusa tilted her head with an unamused expression. "You'd divorce your husband for _that_?"

Mamiko winced. "Mmm. No, I wouldn't go that far. I'd probably just take over the bakery and let Souji do the housework. We're equally good at both."

As Mamiko got to work cleaning the dishes, Ui handed Azusa a bowl of strawberry ice cream. Ui herself had a bowl of double dutch.

"Didn't realize Jun was so into mint chocolate chip," Ui muttered. "I wonder if a cake of that flavor would taste good?"

Azusa shrugged. "I'm sure Sumire could bring one with that flavor some time. Shouldn't be too hard to convince her."

"I suppose you're right." Ui put a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth as she hummed thoughtfully.

"Has my daughter been giving you any trouble?" Mamiko asked offhandedly. "You seem to be worrying about her a lot."

"Well," Azusa began, "she's a bit of a handful, I'm not gonna lie. She's got an overactive imagination and ends up getting tripped up by the weirdest things. That's not exactly conducive to our peace of mind."

Mamiko looked back at them from the sink with the kindest of smiles. "Indeed, she is. How are you coping?"

"It's… _trying_ … I can manage her well enough, I guess. Ui's got a more solid grasp of her than I do."

Ui seemed to eat her ice cream slowly for a moment, letting it melt in her mouth.

"Mmm. She's very honest, which helps a lot. It's never hard to figure out what she's feeling. She lies now and again but we can tell when that's the case so it really isn't a problem." She set her bowl down onto the table. "I don't know. We've known each other for well over two years and these sleepovers have been going for around three months. Jun's basically family to us now. Were just so… _used to_ her. Calling it _coping_ _with her_ doesn't really fit — at least not anymore."

Mamiko's eyes seemed to twinkle as she watched them. "You care a lot about her," she said softly. "Soujirou and I were worried about Jun when she started living with you two. I see now that those worries were unfounded." She bowed slightly. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. She is a very lucky girl to have you both. Keep making her happy."

Once again, Azusa and Ui shared a nervous glance. She _had_ to have known. Why else would she have said that?

"Uhh… Thank you, Mrs. Suzuki…"

"We… we won't let you down…"

Mamiko's smile remained as she returned her attention to the dishes she was washing, shooting them a wink as she did so.

 _Yup_ , they both concluded. She definitely knew.

Seconds later, Jun and Atsushi arrived with their now empty bowls. "Seconds, please," she chimed, reaching for one of the scoopers. Atsushi reached for the other one.

"I'm hitting the double dutch," he said. "You gonna finish off the mint?"

"But of course," Jun said with a grin, already scraping the bottom of the mint chocolate chip ice cream tub.

She then noticed Azusa and Ui nursing their bowls. "You know, if you don't want any, you could give them to me. No use letting them melt."

Azusa felt her face heat up as she realized that she hadn't touched her bowl even once. She quickly brought a spoonful of half-melted strawberry ice cream to her mouth, cradling her bowl close to her chest to ward Jun taking it.

Jun chuckled. "Relax, there's still plenty to go around. Not gonna take yours yet."

Azusa eyed Jun dryly. "Yet?" she repeated.

Jun nodded with and even wider grin. " _Yet_."

Soujirou climbed back up the stairs and announce that he, too would like a second helping of ice cream.

At that, Azusa increased the pace she ate her bowl. Ui did the same.

* * *

 **9:39 PM**

* * *

Ui sat idly on Jun's bed while she towel-dried her hair. She had just finished taking a bath and had changed into some comfortable pajamas.

Jun and Atsushi were talking animatedly to each other while sitting atop the two futons set across the floor and Azusa was still taking her bath. This left Ui alone simply watching the two siblings discuss the nuances of playing bass guitar.

The topic was interesting enough, though it wasn't what held Ui's attention.

Ui had realized early into their habitual sleepovers that she had become intimately familiar with Jun's smile and mood. The wide, mischievous grin on her face and aura of sheer _happiness_ seeming to radiate out of her when she was talking to Atsushi made it plainly obvious that she enjoyed being with her brother. It was positively infectious as Ui couldn't help but smile herself.

Jun waved at Ui. "Hey, Ui you brought Caster, right? My brother's trying to help me with some parts of our new song I'm having trouble with. Need a second opinion."

Ui nodded and quickly took her guitar out of her case from the corner and sat with the siblings on the futon.

Jun explained what she was having trouble with and played the verse with Ui.

"Jazzy," Atsushi commented.

"Still trying to figure out a good way to do those parts. The way I'm doing it right now is straining my hand too much."

"Alright, maybe you can try this."

Jun handed Atsushi her bass and he showed a number of variations of hand movements for the part Jun was having trouble with. He then handed Jun the bass back and she tried to mimic his movements. This lasted a few minutes.

Eventually, Azusa arrived, her head and body wrapped in a towel — she had apparently brought the wrong set of clothes to the bathroom. This became Atsushi's cue to leave which he did with haste. He wished them good night and left, closing the door behind him before they could say good night in return.

"What's up with him?" Azusa asked, removing the towel and revealing that she had at least put some underwear on.

Jun cackled. "Oh, wow! If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought that was intentional!"

Ui suppressed a laugh of her own. "Wrong set of clothes? _Really_ , Azusa?" she asked, turning away to hide her face of amusement.

Azusa blushed. " _I was distracted, okay!?_ I brought my home clothes instead of my sleeping clothes. I didn't want them to get wet and wrinkly so I didn't wear them…"

Jun shook her head and set her bass on its stand, shoulders shaking from smothered laughter all the while.

"Intentional or not, that was the most embarrassed I've ever seen him in my entire life! The look on his face was an absolute treasure! That totally makes up for you not getting me a birthday present."

"Excuse me, _what_?" Azusa raised an eyebrow as she began buttoning up her pajama shirt.

"Shh, don't worry about it. I already forgive you."

Azusa rolled her eyes and continued putting on her pajamas, opting to just drop the conversation.

During the silence that followed, Ui returned her guitar to its case and offered to help Azusa brush her hair. In the background, Jun started pulling some clothes from her drawer announced that she'd be taking her bath and that she'd be right back.

As the door closed for the second time in as many minutes, Azusa asked what they were doing while she was in the bathroom. Ui explained curtly.

"Huh. So she gets the bass from her brother," Azusa muttered.

Ui continued brushing as she spoke. "He's actually a bit like Mio-senpai in a way. He just has this air about him whenever he talks to Jun. He reminds me of Mio-senpai when she's with Ritsu-senpai."

Azusa seemed to nod thoughtfully. "Like Mio-senpai and Ritsu-senpai, huh…?"

Ui stepped back to allow Azusa to put on her pajama pants. They then migrated to the bed and Ui continued brushing.

"Somehow, I don't like the mental image of them being like my two senpai…" Azusa's face scrunched.

Ui sighed. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean. They're so close. It kinda makes you jealous, doesn't it?"

Something tugged on the brush and Azusa gasped. "Ow–"

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"No, no. It's okay. I think this is just Jun's shampoo. I couldn't find any conditioner in the bathroom. I think they ran out."

"Still, though, I hurt you. I'm really sorry Azusa."

Azusa chuckled. "I told you, it's _fine_." She leaned back towards Ui and they both toppled onto the bed. "Now continue what you were saying. What was that about feeling jealous?"

Ui giggled, shifting her position on the bed to make it more comfortable for Azusa whose head now rested on Ui's stomach.

"I don't know, Azusa. They're just so familiar and open with each other. She just seems so _happy_ with him."

"You two are the same way, you know?" Azusa reminded. "And _you're_ the one she's dating."

Ui sighed once more. "I know. I can't help it, alright? I'm jealous. It's just how I feel…"

Azusa didn't respond for a time but eventually spoke. "I… I don't really blame you… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous myself." She shifted her weight, drawing her arms closed to her chest. "For the longest time, I've just been looking at how close you two have been getting and I've always been so happy for you two… but there's always something inside me that wanted… not _more_ — though there's certainly _something_ in there that wants that — but that something… wanted something _else_. Something that you two had… Does that make sense…? I don't think I'm making sense…"

Ui pursed her lips, wrapping her arms around Azusa. "This isn't about Jun and Atsushi," she said quietly. "It's about Jun and me…"

Again, Azusa didn't reply for some time. She eventually nodded her head.

Ui stared at the ceiling. "From the very start, Jun wanted both of us, remember?"

Azusa nodded again slowly.

"And I said I'd be open to it, right?"

Another nod.

"That hasn't changed, Azusa. The door is still open. Just say that word and we'll both welcome you with open arms."

Azusa put a hand on Ui's arm, hesitating with every word of her reply. "I… I'm sorry. I know. I just… I'm just not ready yet… Not emotionally ready, at least…"

Ui tightened her embrace. "It's nothing to be sorry for. We love you, Azusa. Just do what makes you comfortable. You don't have to push yourself."

The two laid there in a silent embrace for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the other.

"Alright, I'm back," Jun said as she entered the door in a black tank top and shorts. "Oh, _hello_ , what's this?" she asked with a grin. "You two willing to scoot over and make it a group hug?"

Ui shared a laugh with Azusa and made room only for Jun to just dog pile them.

"Oof– I thought this was gonna be a group hug…!"

"Jun, you're heavy…"

With a laugh of her own, Jun grabbed them both and threw her weight, rolling them all to their sides. Azusa ended up sandwiched between Ui and Jun, though she did not seem overly bothered by that fact.

"So, what's got Azusa sad this time?" Jun asked Ui, nuzzling Azusa's hair.

Azusa made a reluctant noise of complaint. "Hey…!"

Ui smiled. Jun had immediately picked up on Azusa's mood. "Don't worry. Azusa just feels a little starved for affection."

" _Am not!_ "

Jun leaned back and smirked at Azusa. "Oh? Then should we stop?"

Ui couldn't see Azusa's face but her ears were turning red so it was likely she was blushing.

"Okay, _fine_ ," Azusa relented. "I'm a _little_ starved for affection…"

"Atta girl."

With that, the three cuddled until sleep took them.

Ui was the last one conscious and she quietly lamented the effort Jun and Atsushi went through to set up the futons when they were going to all sleep on the bed anyway.

 _Oh well…_

She quietly succumbed to unconsciousness in Azusa and Jun's arms.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

* * *

 **And so ends the Birthday arc.**

 **The idea that the Suzuki own a bakery is actually an idea I took from Discord and Tumblr user Mopen. He also helped with brainstorming and personalities for the parents and brother. I didn't end up using most of the discussed characterization but his input was appreciated.**

 **The description of the Suzuki residence is loosely based on the home of one of my real life friends. Not the exact layout, of course — I made sure to be vague about it so you guys can just imagine it — but the feeling I got when I first went over to his place. I hope I translated it well into writing.**

 **The scene in the previous chapter wherein Ui and Azusa were overwhelmed with a feeling of… let's call it 'excitement' at the smell of Jun's room is actually because of a discussion I had with a fellow writer, Discord user Trilicon. The exchange involved how smelling a person's clothes and noting the familiar scent can be written and read as some combination of cute and lewd. I tried to channel the idea of that into writing that scene.**

 **I wrote the scene where Mamiko subtly gives her blessing towards Azusa, Jun, and Ui's relationship because of an idea given to me by a fellow writer, Discord user Crypt. The idea is for a scene in a future arc. It may not manifest in the same way as his suggestion.**

 **And finally, the last scene in this chapter is set-up for the next arc of the story. The Azu-angst should be on it's way to ending. It's just across the horizon.**

 **Thank you to asianpotter1 (PUM) for doing a second pass looking for spelling, grammar, and word choice issues. They're a big help on my peace of mind.**

 **I'll end this note here. This has been a wonderful June Marathon. Until next chapter, guys.**


	12. Revolving Doors and Reminiscence

**The 2019 June-marathon begins. Enjoy if you can.**

 _ **June 18, Saturday**_

Azusa turned on the lights in her living room and frowned. It was one in the morning. Everyone else was asleep. There was a continuous dull drone of raindrops hitting the roof. And, most importantly, Ui was alone, sitting on the couch, knees pulled up to her chest.

"Hey," Azusa greeted. Ui didn't turn to face her but parroted her greeting.

"Hey…"

Azusa's frown deepened. _That_ couldn't be good.

"I was dreaming about her," Ui continued. "It was happy… then I woke up." She hugged her legs tighter. "None of you were awake…"

Azusa shifted her weight, feeling distinctly unsuited to helping Ui through her emotional troubles. She cleared her throat in an attempt to curb her feeling of awkwardness. "I'm sorry."

Ui didn't move from where she sat. "Don't be. It's not your fault… Sometimes, I just get like this…"

Despite the lack of eye contact, Azusa couldn't help but look away.

Drops of water fell from the faucet in the kitchen. It was a steadying beat that somehow wasn't lost in the noise from outside.

"I get like that sometimes too," Azusa eventually replied. She walked over to the couch. "Mind if I sit with you?"

Once again, Ui didn't reply, though she didn't protest when Azusa took a seat next to her. Nor did she make any comment when Azusa leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling.

"You ever wonder what Yui-senpai's up to in college?"

"All the time," Ui admitted. "Sis messages me regularly about what she's been up to while she's at Uni but, now and again, I can't help but think: _what would she be doing at this very moment?_ I imagine she's sleeping right now…"

"I'd hope so. I still recall how she'd sometimes stay up all night practicing guitar."

Ui managed a small chuckle. "She has a roommate that keeps her in check. The way sis describes her, she seems a lot like you."

Azusa turned to Ui and raised an eyebrow in question. "You _are_ talking about that Akira person, right?"

Ui met Azusa's bewildered and skeptical look with a wan smile. "She's a stern, black haired guitarist that inspires sis to improve. The similarities are certainly there."

Azusa pouted and looked down at the table in front of them. It felt weird, being compared to Yui's new—for lack of a better word—handler. "Well… you're not _wrong_ , but…" she trailed off, crossing her arms.

Ui relaxed her hold on her legs and let her feet fall off the couch onto the floor. "It's not like having similarities with her is a bad thing. I think those are just traits Yui really likes in people. I can certainly see the appeal."

Azusa wasn't sure what to feel about that information. On one hand, she was pretty sure she'd just received a compliment. On the other hand, said compliment had implications that were more stressful than she wanted to deal with in the dead hours of night.

Did Yui have a _type_? Did _Ui_ have a type? She hadn't ever really considered it. The topic of what type of people her friends were attracted to rarely came up in conversation and, even when it did, the question was never posed to _her_. Then again, she also never considered the possibility of being part of a three way romance—certainly not one with two of her closest friends—and yet, she was currently sitting on an opportunity to enter exactly such a relationship. Her said closest friends were keeping the door open for her. And not only that, she had actually begun considering the offer. Forget if the Hirasawa sisters had a type. The thought of being in a polyamorous relationship was several levels more stressful!

"How do you think sis will react to… well… _us…_?"

The question posed by Ui had, thankfully, derailed Azusa's runaway train of thought. It did give her some pause, however. _Didn't Yui already know?_ She tilted her head curiously and answered Ui's question with her own.

Ui pursed her lips. "She _does_ know, but," she began slowly. "Well… hearing about it and seeing it are two different things. I can't help but feel like she's got an idea in her head about what we're like as a couple and she'll be thrown off when we're not what she expected…"

"I'm sure she'll be happy for you regardless," Azusa said, putting an arm around Ui in an awkward attempt at a comforting hug.

"Still," Ui mumbled, putting a hand over Azusa's resting on her shoulder. "I worry. That's just how I feel…"

Ui leaned towards Azusa, prompting Azusa to hold Ui tighter. For a time the two embraced, letting the noise of the rain drown out the initial awkwardness. In that period, the dripping faucet had dripped its last, its steadying beat no longer needed.

 _ **Later**_

Breakfast was a quiet affair that morning. Jun was cranky due to the rain that had pulled in the previous night. Something about the humidity just made her irritable for some reason. It likely because how much of a frizzy mess her hair became whenever the weather got like that. Azusa and Ui were similarly cranky, thanks to their little heart to heart earlier— _way_ earlier—that day. Sleep had not come to them easily when they finally went back to bed. The combination of their unpleasant moods, the gloomy sky outside the window, and the muffled pitter-patter of raindrops left the table feeling subdued as they ate.

"You know," Azusa muttered between spoonfuls of cereal. "I don't think I've ever seen your parents in all these months we've been sleeping over."

Ui quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, they're normally away on business. Last time they called, they said they should be back within this week."

Azusa replied was a brief stare before continuing her meal. Her silence seemed distinctly skeptical.

Jun tilted her head, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. "W… we… weoooaaaaaahhh…"

Azusa and Ui shared a knowing smile. Ui gestured for Jun to continue, waving off the bassist's apology.

"Haaaaaah… hah… Sorry… Anyway, isn't it no different to your own parents?" Jun eventually said after recovering from her yawn. She lazily pointed her spoon at Azusa. "We've never seen them either."

Azusa shrugged. "They've been home for half the times you've slept over. They try to stay hands-off but they grill me every morning you're not there."

Ui's eyes widened in alarm. Glancing to the side, Jun was similarly shocked, mouth agape and spoonful of cereal falling back into her bowl.

"So," Jun muttered, fidgeting in her seat. "They know about us? Why didn't you tell us?"

Azusa blinked, a blush creeping into her cheeks. She scratched her head. "You see their shoes by the door every time you come over. I thought you already knew."

Ui nodded her head numbly, remembering that they did, in fact, see the shoes of at least two other people by the door whenever they entered Azusa's home—they actually saw those shoes with surprising regularity. She also frequently found dishes in the sink during her morning routine that weren't there when they went to bed. Added to that were the late sounds of activity around the house whenever she woke up in the middle of the night. And all of those were signs that Azusa's parents were home? How could she have known? How could Azusa assume they knew from just that?

Ui let out a breath in mild disbelief.

Jun crossed her arms in thought. "I guess that explains why you always leave the room when you say you need to ask your parents' permission for something. You're not leaving to make a call. You're leaving to ask them in person."

Azusa put her hands on her face, shaking her head. "You guys really didn't know?"

Ui managed an ironic giggle at the burning shame that lit Azusa's eyes and rosy cheeks. She smiled the kindest smile she could muster and resumed eating. Jun did the same. Did they really not know? Their silence would be answer enough.

"Oh, come on, guys. I'm sorry for not telling you! Please don't be like that!"

Ui merely chewed her cereal in amusement. For a morning that had started fairly stifled, the mood had certainly been lifted.

 _ **June 20, Monday**_

Ui chuckled weakly as she poured tea for the other members of the club. Nao and Sumire were once again pestering Jun about their love life and she was shooting Azusa and Ui looks that were increasingly obvious cries for help. Of course, Azusa just raised an eyebrow at Jun's pleading looks and took a sip of her tea, like she always did. Ui would have to be the one to break up the commotion again.

Ui set down the rest of the tea cups on the table, startling their two kohai. "I think that's enough. You're making her uncomfortable."

Normally, it was rare for Ui to use her stern-big-sister voice but, recently, she'd been using it quite often—ever since Nao and Sumire found out about them dating. It was ironic, considering Ui was the little sister of her family. That being said, she was still older than the club's freshman. When she scolded Nao and Sumire, they both looked away, embarrassed and guilty, muttering apologies. Her tone of voice somehow had that effect on them.

Jun gave Ui a grateful smile while Azusa continued to amusedly sip her tea.

"I think it's rather cute how enthused they are with you three," a new voice said.

The Wakaba Girls collectively jumped in their seats upon realizing that their club adviser was also seated at the table with them. It seemed as if Sawako had appeared out of thin air. When had she entered the room? When had she sat down? How long had she been there? None of them knew the answers to those questions and none of them were sure if they wanted to ask.

"I do apologize for being so busy these past few weeks," she said with a smile. "But now I'm ready to be your club adviser again."

The club collectively blinked and stared. A strange sort of silence crept into the room.

"So you're here for some tea?" Jun eventually asked, raising her cup.

"Yes, please," Sawako replied, looking pointedly to Ui.

There was a collective sigh of relief—though, relief for _what,_ none of the club knew.

Ui giggled and poured another cup and set it down next to Sawako. "How was the wind ensemble club's recital?"

Sawako smiled as she sipped. "Placed high in the prefecturals but we're not going to the regionals. All things considered, they're quite happy with the result."

"Sounds quite fun," Sumire said, setting down a box of pastries on the table. "How' is the tea? Ui-senpai has been requesting I bring a variety of different kinds these past few weeks."

"I wondered why it tasted different. I don't dislike it. Is this mint?"

As the freshmen conversed with Sawako, Ui took a seat next to Jun. Once she was seated, Jun leaned over and whispered to her.

"Hey, Ui?" She fidgeted slightly. "Did sensei ever find out? You know? About… well, _us_?"

Ui raised an eyebrow and cupped her chin in thought. "You know what? I don't actually know."

"Do we tell her? Like, it's one thing keeping it from our parents but it's a whole 'nother thing to keep it from sensei. Nao and Sumire are in love with the idea of us. It'll be impossible to—"

The two froze when Sawako called them. "Hey, love birds. If you're going to whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears, you'd best get a room."

They turned with abject horror to their club adviser—horror that quickly gave way to embarrassment when they saw the teasing grin on Sawako's face. They panickedly put an arm's distance between their faces.

"Oh, to be young," Sawako said wistfully as she sipped her tea. "You two remind me of one of my band mates when I was still a student here. She and her boyfriend were so cute together. They got married last year, you know?"

On the other side of the table, the other club members weren't even _trying_ to act natural. Sumire looked just about ready to burst with joy. Nao stared in her usual intense manner. Azusa's face was buried in her cup, the redness of her ears making it quite clear what her feelings on the situation was. All Ui could do was put on an awkward smile.

 _ **June 22, Wednesday**_

Ui's parents arrived home shortly before dinner that night, well within Ui's rough estimate of _'within a week'_ from when she told Azusa and Jun about it. Expected or not, their arrival still made Ui nervous.

While said parents were _aware_ of the frequent sleepovers between the three girls in the months they'd been away, they were _not_ aware of the romantic relationship between Jun and Ui, nor Azusa's role in a hypothetical triad. Ui hadn't known how to bring up the topic with them whenever she messaged them on the weekends. She _still_ didn't know how to bring it up—especially not in person.

"That's nice dear," the mother said when Ui explained that Azusa and Jun were sleeping over. "Will dinner take long? I'd be happy to help you out in the kitchen."

"I'm good, mama. I'll be done in a few minutes. Azusa can set the table."

The two parents sat down while Azusa began laying down bowls for the two new guests. Ui glanced to the side and saw the very slight strain on Azusa's otherwise agreeable smile. Why was tha—Oh, Ui's mother had taken a seat where Azusa usually sat. No wonder. Azusa would just have to sit next to Jun.

"Azusa, Ui, the bath's ready for when we're done… with… dinner…"

Jun called as she climbed down the stairs, her voice suddenly dying in her throat when she realized Mr. and Mrs. Hirasawa were home already. She quickly bowed low.

"Good evening. Thank you both for allowing me to stay in your home," she greeted stiffly.

Azusa watched this for a moment before shooting Ui a raised eyebrow. Ui responded with a shrug. Azusa rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Ui's father, waiting patiently for Ui to bring in the rice and side dishes. Jun did the same, taking a seat between Azusa and Ui's mother.

The rice cooker next to the table made an audible click. At the same time, Ui set down several plates of food along with a pot of miso soup. "Everyone hungry?" she asked, taking everyone's bowls and giving them all a cup of rice.

Dinner was had quietly, without the candid conversations that had become the norm in the two months Azusa, Jun, and Ui had been having sleepovers.

After dinner, Jun got to work on the dishes and Ui's mother suggested Azusa be the first one to take the bath. Azusa made a token protest, saying Ui's mother or father should be the one to take it, but eventually relented and went up.

"You have very nice friends, Ui," her mother said quietly once the three Hirasawas were alone at the table.

Ui managed a small smile. "They've been taking very good care of me," she admitted.

"I know it must be lonely with the two of us always away. I'm glad you have friends to keep you company."

Ui nodded automatically, trying not to frown at the thought of all those lonely nights she spent before Azusa and Jun started sleeping over.

Her father cleared his throat. "Ahem. Is there something wrong, dear? You seem upset."

Ui fidgeted in her seat. Over the course of dinner, she had been weighing the pros and cons of simply telling her parents about her relationship. She _still_ hadn't made up her mind yet. She just knew she didn't like the thought of lying to her parents.

Granted, she might not even have to.

If her parents had suspected anything romantic about her relationship with Azusa and Jun, they were doing a very good job at hiding it. As far as Ui could tell, they simply thought of Azusa and Jun as Ui's really _really_ close friends. Friends. _Not_ romantic partners. If she could just _hide_ the fact that they _were_ romantic partners—or prospective partners in the case of Azusa—then she _technically_ wouldn't be lying.

Even still, she had doubts that she'd be _able_ to hide said relationship. Jun's mother had found out very quickly because of Ui had said something that had strong implications during their dinner with the Suzuki family—and at least Mamiko was very open-minded about their situation. Once dinner with her own parents stopped being a quiet awkward affair, a similar slip-up was bound to happen again. If and when Ui told her own parents, accidentally or not, hopefully they'd react like Jun's.

Her train of thought continued to run its meandering track until her father asked a question and derailed it.

"Have you heard from Yui recently?"

Ui blinked, suddenly pulled back into reality. She tilted her head curiously. "We were on the phone last Sunday. Why?"

"She recently started clamming up whenever we talk to her about you. We were just wondering if you two had gotten into a fight of some sort."

Ui shook her head, already piecing together what might have happened. In all likelihood, Yui was probably just trying to keep Ui's relationship with Jun a secret but, in doing so, likely made it obvious to their parents that she was hiding something.

"There wasn't any fight. If I remember correctly, isn't sis' finals for this term coming soon?"

Ui's father blinked and nodded thoughtfully. "You know, that completely slipped my mind. Your term finals are nearing as well, aren't they? I supposed this is a frequent topic in your conversations."

Ui sighed and answered "Yes" truthfully but omitted the fact that neither of the two were quite as stressed about it as they would have been in earlier years. Yui had someone forcing her to study and Ui had always been competent at academics. Really, Ui was more worried about Jun's grades than she was about Yui's or her own.

"Hmm, I see. Well, I suppose that explains it. She never did like talking about exams and studying. Thank you for telling us."

"Ui, why don't you go set up the futons now. You and your friends should be sleeping soon."

"Yes, mother," Ui said, standing from her seat and bowing. Internally, Ui giggled at how, just a week prior, Jun was forced to set up futons in her own room with full knowledge that the three of them would sleep in the same bed anyway. It was Ui's turn now, it seemed.

 _ **June 25, Saturday**_

That morning, Jun sat down at Azusa's kitchen table, noting the distinct awkwardness in the air. Azusa seemed more subdued than usual. Ui, more polite. It seemed strange to Jun at first and continued to seem that way. And then it hit her.

Azusa had seated herself pushed up next to Jun while Azusa's parents sat at the other side of the table from them. Internally, Jun's stomach lurched. That morning's breakfast was going to be as awkward and stilted as the previous Wednesday's dinner, wasn't it…?

 _ **End of Chapter**_

 **Thanks to Discord user RL (Ambrosine on the Sufficient Velocity forums) for doing the second pass during the editing of this chapter.**

 **My rate of progress seems to be four chapters a year for this story. Not that that's much different from my other stories but it's still disappointing. It might take me a few years to finish this if I don't write faster.**

 **Anyway, new arc! Specifically, an arc involving the two characters still hung up on a certain genki guitarist. In addition to the Azu-angst in the previous chapters, we now have Ui-angst. Less confusion about what her feelings for Yui actually were and more general loneliness. Oh** _ **joy**_ **!**

 **There's less Jun in this chapter than usual but don't worry. Either next chapter or the one after will involve Tanabata. Stars, romance, and fireworks. I'm excited to write it.**

 **Anyway, I'll end this note here. I'll see you next week for chapter 13!**


	13. Wandering Hearts and Foggy Windows

**I'm still on schedule. Thank goodness. Second chapter of the 2019 June-marathon. Enjoy if you can!**

* * *

 _ **June 27, Monday**_

* * *

The club room was bathed in the warm light of the setting sun as its occupants went about their business. The tip of Jun's pen glided across the pages of her homework in lazy flicks and strokes. Across the table from her, Sawako graded papers with a cup of tea and a plate of cake at her side. Similarly, Jun had her own cup and plate but the food and drink that accompanied them had long been consumed. Sumire stood a pace away, watching the other three members of the club brainstorm a new song—Nao on the bench, playing beat loops and music samples on her laptop, Azusa and Ui playing over it on Mu-tan and the clubroom piano respectively.

This was probably one of the more productive club meetings the Wakaba Girls have had, Jun thought with an idle hum and loll of her head. Though, compared to what it was like when she was in the Jazz Club, there'd definitely been more goofing off.

As if to prove her point, Sawako released a deep sigh and downed her cup. "Refill please," she then said, smiling and turning to Sumire.

Sumire had already started pouring when Sawako called her name. As she poured, Jun also raised a cup for a refill.

"How about we all take a quick break?" Ui suggested, standing from the piano chair.

"We've barely gone through the first verse," Azusa grumbled. It was telling, however, that she still set down her guitar and eagerly made for the table. Jun smiled at her slyly. Oh, such a cute contradiction.

"How fares the song writing?" Jun asked as Azusa and Ui sat on either side of her.

"Really? _'How fares'_?" Azusa repeated with an incredulous snort. She took a long, slow sip of her tea and exhaled audibly after swallowing, looking down at her now half-emptied cup. "The song's still not good enough yet. It's nearly finals week. Soon, we won't be able to practice."

Jun chuckled. "Yeah, it's not like we have the entirety of summer vacation to practice."

Azusa side-eyed Jun, raising an eyebrow. "That's assuming we don't spend most of the summer studying for our college entrance exams. Speaking of studying, _how fares_ your English homework?"

Jun's smile soured. "Eh, it's getting done," she replied with a shrug. "Probably won't be a good grade but at least it'll pass."

"That attitude makes me genuinely worried about your academics," Azusa sighed.

"Oh, don't be that way, Azusa," Ui said, reaching across the table to nudge Azusa in the shoulder. "My sister didn't like English very much either and she did fine."

Azusa rolled her eyes. "Yui-senpai also has the ability to get perfect marks in any subject with just a week of preparation. I don't think Jun's _that_ extraordinary."

"There was a compliment buried somewhere in there," Jun muttered, her eyes beginning to wander as Azusa and Ui began talking about Yui. Her gaze just so happened to fall upon Sumire offering tea to Nao, who had remained on the bench.

Nao was still transcribing the beginnings of their new song on her laptop, but she set it aside when Sumire presented a cup and coaster to her. For a moment, she stared at Sumire in her usual intense manner. Then she nodded once and took the presented cup. Sumire smiled and chuckled, as if that simple nod had communicated something funny that Jun did not understand.

She blinked before taking another sip of her tea and tuning back in to what Azusa and Ui were talking about. Unsurprisingly, it was still about Yui. Even Sawako got in on the action, cutting between the two to make sarcastic comments about what their beloved senpai did one time or another that was bizarre in the moment and hilarious in hindsight.

The many stories she heard about the goofy and energetic Yui Hirasawa gave Jun the impression that Yui was simultaneously both an idiot and a genius. She was often described as somehow aimless and easily distractible, but with a focus so keen that nothing could divert her attention once her focus was aimed. She was slow to wrap her mind around complicated ideas, yet able to instantly and intuitively understand other equally complicated things. She was unable to detect social cues, yet could somehow disarm and endear people to her with utter ease. It was kind of hard to believe. Jun didn't really know what to make of it.

What's more, the little interaction she'd had with Yui Hirasawa didn't seem to contradict anything in those stories.

Their break lasted only as long as the last cup of tea. Azusa, Ui, and Nao got back to work on the song, Sawako on the tests she was grading. Sumire filled up the electric thermos for another round of tea later on and Jun resumed the ordeal of writing an essay in a language she didn't even speak.

* * *

 _ **June 28, Tuesday**_

* * *

Ui was surprised to find that food was already prepared when she went down to the kitchen that morning. Her mother had gotten up earlier than even Azusa and had started working on breakfast for them. Thankfully, her mother did nothing more than smile at her kindly and put down a bowl of rice at her spot on the table—there wouldn't be a repeat of the previous Wednesday's awkward dinner. The woman then bade them a good morning before leaving the kitchen to prepare for her work.

Once Ui was seated, Azusa leaned in to whisper: "I don't think she knows."

Ui's face twitched ever so slightly as she pushed down her feelings of alarm. "I'll be honest, I don't think that's going to last for very long. I don't like hiding things from them and, more to the point, I don't think I _can_ —at least not for long."

Azusa raised an eyebrow as she leaned back. "You're iffy about _that_ but you're fine with lying to Jun?"

Ui frowned. "She's convinced her parents know nothing. I could tell her the truth and she wouldn't believe it."

"Give her some credit, Ui. She's not _that_ oblivious," Azusa muttered, popping a clump of rice into her mouth.

Ui let out a sigh. "You seem keen on giving Jun backhanded compliments lately." She put her hands together and gave thanks for her meal.

"I have? Huh…"

"They're not wrong, though," Ui added. "The compliments, I mean… They're not wrong… And they're definitely very… _you…_ "

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Ui shook her head. "Hard to explain…"

"Hmm…"

As Azusa chewed on her thoughts and her breakfast, Ui began eating as well.

A few minutes later, Jun arrived at the kitchen, hair frizzy and eyes still half-lidded and drowsy. She sat at her usual spot across the table from Ui, a bowl of rice and a plate of side dishes already set out for her.

" _Itadakimasu_ ," Jun mumbled before digging into her meal with a gusto and enthusiasm that was completely at odds with her general demeanor.

Ui glanced at Azusa and they exchanged looks of amusement. Azusa smiled and shook her head, shoulders jerking in what seemed to be a silent chuckle. Ui let out a little giggle as well before returning to her meal.

* * *

 _ **June 29, Wednesday**_

* * *

The walk to Azusa's house was subdued and relatively silent due to a light drizzle that had pulled in after the three left the school. Well, it was light _for now_. Ui noted how the drops seemed to be getting bigger by the minute.

"The rain's picking up," she said. "We should walk faster."

"Would be easier if we had a bigger umbrella," Jun muttered. "Not that we have any right to complain."

Of the three of them, only Ui had remembered to bring an umbrella, which led to their current predicament where three people had to crowd under an umbrella made for one. It was, admittedly, not a very graceful or comfortable situation to be in.

"You know what? It might be easier if I just tough it out and walk in the rain. We'll get home faster."

Ui shot Jun a stern look of warning while Azusa reached over and flicked Jun's forehead.

"Ow—Hey! Jeeze, it was just an idea. Not like I'd go through with it."

"That idea would end up getting you sick," Azusa snapped. She flicked Jun's forehead a second time. "That one was for making excuses," she added.

Jun grumbled under her breath. Ui caught the words 'unfair' and 'uptight' before she trailed off. A small smile found its way to Ui's face at that.

The light drizzle eventually grew to a sizable downpour, Ui's folding umbrella doing little to shield the three from the falling water. They were soaked by the time they got home.

Jun sighed as she kicked off her shoes and undid her pigtails. Ui found herself staring at the way Jun's hair fell to just past her shoulders. She felt a curious lurch in her stomach when Jun ran a hand through said hair, slender fingers tucking strands behind her ears, exposing the paths that water droplets had taken down the curves of her neck.

Ui blinked and pursed her lips when the feeling passed. How long had she been staring…? Ah, it didn't really matter. She joined the two in stripping off their cold, wet, and altogether uncomfortable clothes.

Jun drew up a hot bath for them. Azusa got them towels. Ui put their wet clothes in the dryer. Within minutes, the three were huddled together in a tub that wasn't meant for multiple people, knees pulled up to their chests. There was a certain irony to this that they weren't sure they wanted to acknowledge—at least this time weren't soaked against their will

"Do I have the right to say _'I told you so'_?" Jun asked quietly next to Ui.

A dissatisfied hum came from the other side of Jun. "You told us nothing," Azusa said petulantly.

Jun leaned overbearingly towards Azusa with a smug grin on her face. "I _said_ it'd be faster if I walked in the rain. If I did that, we would have gotten home sooner and we wouldn't have gotten soaked."

It wasn't clear whether Azusa's flushed face was caused by the heat, her annoyance, or embarrassment. "You really want to say it, don't you?" she muttered, the small confines of bathtub preventing her from scooting away. "Or you want me to say you were right."

"Either way, it'd make me feel better," Jun said cheekily.

"I didn't want you to get sick and I still don't," Azusa insisted.

Jun chuckled and relented, giving Azusa space once more. "I'd say better just me than all three of us… But I do see your point. Still, though. Wish we didn't have to suffer through that."

Ui's head lolled to the side, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I don't know… Getting soaked wasn't very pleasant, but at least it led to me sitting here with you two." She lightly splashed at the water. "This is kinda nice, isn't it? It feels cozy and intimate—like when the three of us fall asleep in each other's arms…"

"D'aww. That's sweet." Jun nuzzled Ui affectionately. "I like it too. How 'bout you, Azusa?"

Azusa spared them just a glance before looking down and raising her cupped hands. Water fell through the space between her fingers. "Well…" She pursed her lips. "I don't _dislike_ it…"

Ui eyed the pensive look on Azusa's face and remembered Azusa's strange relationship with affection and intimacy. The thought gave her that strange pulling sensation in her gut again, as if her insides were tipping sideways. Such a curious feeling, she thought to herself. But not one she disliked. Was that the same kind of feeling that Azusa felt…?

A few minutes later, they were dried off and dressed. Ui got to work on dinner while Azusa and Jun started doing their homework.

"How long until you're done?" Jun asked idly as she entered the kitchen, heading straight for the thermos with a teapot in hand.

Ui looked over her boiling pot, watching its contents simmer. "Mmm… Another fifteen minutes, more or less? If I timed it correctly, everything should be ready at about the same time. You already finished that math problem?"

"Yup"

"Huh. That was quick," she noted.

"Not quick enough."

Despite Ui's eyes being on the food she was cooking, she could tell that Jun had rolled her eyes as she said those last words. She let out a chuckle. "Did Azusa give you a hard time?"

"Ui, when _doesn't_ she give me a hard time?"

The question actually gave Ui pause. "Now that you mention it…"

As Ui thought on her reply, a weight pressed against her back and arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel the contours of Jun's face resting on the side of her neck.

Ui went still and held her breath in surprise for only a moment before relaxing. She continued cooking while Jun held her. "What's up?" she asked.

"Being in the bath with you felt… weird," Jun replied, unusually subdued.

"Oh?" Ui felt the beginnings of a shiver that never came. Instead, it was just a strange tingling sensation where Jun's breath touched her shoulder. She did her best to ignore it. "Weird how?"

"It made me want to kiss you…"

"Then why didn't you? It's not like we would stop you. If it's Azusa you're worried about, she's seen us kiss plenty of times."

"No, that's not…" Jun tightened her embrace. "I wanted to _make out_ with you…"

While _naked_ , Ui added in her mind, all too certain that Jun was thinking that as well. She found herself averting her eyes despite not making eye contact in the first place. " _Oh_ ," was all she could say.

"I don't know if I could do _that_ with Azusa there…"

"I…" Ui tried to smile but only succeeded in wincing. "I don't know if I could do it either," she admitted with a sigh. "Though, I sincerely doubt Azusa would have minded…"

Jun's next reply was quiet—barely louder than a whisper.

"That wasn't all I wanted to do…"

Ui's eyes continued wandering as she suddenly became very aware of Jun's hands. They were still wrapped around her waist in a tight hug. The curious lurch in her stomach returned.

She had guesses as to what else Jun had wanted, though she couldn't be sure. She almost didn't want to ask…

She asked anyway.

"W-what else did you want to do?"

There was a hum of discomfort from Jun, likely equalling Ui's. She raised one of her hands, pinky outstretched. "Promise you won't get mad?"

Ui found it in herself to giggle despite her nervousness. She wrapped her own pinky around Jun's. "Promise."

"Okay then…"

Jun withdrew her hand slowly. Delicately. As if she were worried a sudden move might break something.

"I… I wanted to kiss Azusa…"

Ui tapped a finger on the stove counter.

For all Jun's worry, Ui was neither surprised nor upset by this revelation, though it certainly wasn't what she expected. She already knew Jun was in love with Azusa. She didn't begrudge that fact. And it wasn't like she couldn't see the appeal—there was a lot to like. She felt no jealousy.

Just empathy…

She put a reassuring hand on Jun's arm. "You're _fine_ , Jun. There's no need to worry."

Jun and Ui embraced for a little while longer. They eventually separated and Ui got back to her cooking. Dinner was had shortly after.

* * *

 _ **June 30, Thursday**_

* * *

"Hey," Jun said while they waited at the train crossing on the way to school. "Isn't Tanabata in about a week?"

Azusa cocked her head, interest piqued. Ui also raised a curious eyebrow. "It's on the seventh, yes," Ui said.

Jun shifted her weight and averted her eyes. "Have any plans?"

Ui glanced at Azusa and they exchanged looks of amusement. "No, I don't," Ui began. "But I suspect that's about to change."

"I'm helping my dad run a food stall at the festival grounds. I was hoping you two would accompany me."

Ui blinked. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't that. Not to say she wasn't intrigued, however. The thought of being one of the people running a star festival, as opposed to simply being a festival goer, was an interesting one. She'd certainly be willing to try.

"Azusa?" Ui said, tilting her head quizzically towards the girl in question.

Azusa had her chin cupped in thought. "Sounds fun, honestly…"

That was all Ui needed. By the time the train had passed and they could cross, the two had agreed to assist Jun.

"You know, I assumed you were gonna ask Ui out on a date," Azusa muttered upon sitting at her classroom desk.

"Hmm? Well…" Sitting backwards on the chair in front of Azusa, Jun rested her chin on her hand, arm propped up by the backrest. "I wanted to do that too but I figured if you agreed to the first thing, you'd agree to the second thing. They'll let us go after the initial rush of festival-goers dies down so the date could just be the latter half of the festival."

Azusa shrugged. "Make sense." She then turned to Ui, who had taken the seat next to her. "Thoughts?"

"I'm fine with that," Ui said, smiling. "I liked that you didn't go for the obvious date request back there, Jun. It was a pleasant surprise."

Jun grinned and made a dramatic pose. "Romance is supposed to be exciting, ya know? Just doing my part."

Azusa rolled her eyes. "Yes. Instead of a date, volunteer labor. Very exciting."

"Oh, ha _ha_ ," Jun laughed dryly. "We _are_ getting paid, you know?"

Azusa blinked. "Actually… I _didn't_ know that… huh…"

Jun drummed her fingers against the chair's backrest. "You think Nao and Sumire will say yes if I asked them?"

Azusa blinked again. "Are you asking them to help with the stall or on a date?"

"Come on, Azusa. I'm being serious."

"So am I."

Ui suppressed a giggle. Azusa was clearly not being serious. Despite her straight face, the twinkling mischief in her eyes was enough of a tell.

The classroom began filling up with students. Eventually, the person who actually sat next to Azusa arrived and Ui moved back to her own seat. Jun did the same. Soon after, the bell rang and school began.

* * *

 _ **End of Chapter**_

* * *

 **Thanks to** _ **picardyThird**_ **from the To the Stars Discord for doing the second pass for spelling and grammar.**

 **Tanabata date next chapter. Here's hoping I get it done by next week. Until then!**


	14. Reflections in the Mirror

**I'm sorry this is a day late but at least it's out. Enjoy if you can.**

* * *

 _ **July 07, Thursday**_

* * *

 _ **05:58**_

In a rare stray from the norm, Azusa woke up with a blanket wrapped around her. It also happened that _Jun_ was wrapped around her as well. She wasn't sprawled on the floor like usual but straddled on top of Azusa, arms hugging her shoulders and legs hugging her hips. She could also feel Jun nuzzling her neck gently—too gentle for her to be awake if the way she normally nuzzled Ui was anything to go by.

Azusa said nothing as she put a hand on Jun's head, running her fingers through the brunette's frizzy brown hair. It smelled of Azusa's shampoo—which had long stopped being a surprise since they'd been using each other's soap and shampoo for months now.

Jun's breathing was cute and shallow. And with every exhale, a faint hum reached Azusa's ears and a moist warmth touched her neck. The tingling sensation it left her with was not an unpleasant one.

She closed her eyes and emptied her mind until all that was left was the feeling of Jun's presence—the body entwined with hers. A contented happiness welled up inside of her, radiating outward to the tips of her toes and to her breathless lips. She could lay in the cozy warmth forever.

She'd fallen for Jun, she realized. She fallen for Ui as well. She'd long been in denial about it. It took until Jun's birthday for her to even acknowledge that she felt anything at all. And she'd been putting off thinking about it ever since.

But now, deep down, she knew she wanted to take the next step—whatever that next step might be

 _"I… love… you?"_ she whispered breathlessly as she imagined Jun and Ui's faces. She felt a wave of excitement and sheer bliss build up inside her chest, threatening to overflow.

 _"I love you,"_ she repeated.

Saying it just felt so… _right_.

It felt true…

It felt like she couldn't deny it any longer.

She'd fallen for them. There wasn't a doubt in her mind. She was in love with her two best friends…

Her two best friends who were already dating each other…

Who were not very subtle about wanting to date her as well…

Who never pushed her into dating them despite how easily she could've been convinced…

Who always kept the door open for her in case she ever decided she wanted in…

She was in love with her two best friends… and they loved her back.

The very thought was as harrowing as it was heartwarming…

A few minutes later, Jun woke up and smiled drowsily at Azusa. "Sorry I kept you," she said with a yawn before sitting up.

Azusa sat up as well, rolling her eyes. "You're lucky I didn't need to use the toilet while you had me in that death grip. Would've been the perfect time to test just how hard I'd need to hit you before you'd wake up."

Jun chuckled playfully, unfazed by the admittedly hollow threat. "Sounds like a rude awakening. I'm glad it didn't come to that." She let out another yawn and stretched. " _HAAAAaa_ aaaaw~… _Haaah~…_ _H'alright…_ Alright. Let's go down. I think I can already smell Ui's cooking."

Azusa snorted in amusement and followed Jun out of bed. She then proceeded to the kitchen and began eating breakfast, mentally chewing on a new self-discovery that she had no idea how to bring up in a conversation.

She knew herself enough to know that she probably wasn't telling them she loved them that morning. It had taken forever for her to even admit it to _herself_. What more if she had to admit it to _them_? No. She wouldn't be able to do it. Not now. Not during breakfast. She just didn't have the nerve and blind trust that Jun did. It'd need to be later, once she knew it was the right moment.

 _How_ would she know when it was the right moment?

Well… she didn't…

Thus, as she ate at her usual spot at the kitchen table, she had a sinking feeling that she'd be sitting on her secret for a long time.

"So, what's the plan for today?" she asked between bites, masking her resignation with genuine curiosity.

Jun shoveled some rice into her mouth and chewed quickly. "After school, we go to the shrine," she replied after swallowing. "My dad's stall is near the western edge."

Azusa nudged a piece of meat with her chopsticks. "What about after?"

Jun and Ui seemed to exchange looks. They did that a lot so it wasn't that strange to Azusa. What _was_ strange was the nervous lights in their eyes when their gazes met. What was up with _that?_

"I guess the three of us could roam the festival grounds," Jun said with a casual shrug, seemingly without any of the nervousness from seconds earlier. "We can probably figure it out once we're there."

Azusa stared at her for a moment before looking down at her half-eaten breakfast. "I thought you two were going on a date."

Jun nodded. "We are."

Azusa idly clicked her chopsticks together and pursed her lips. Gears began turning in her mind. "Why am _I_ part of it, then? I don't want to be a third-wheel."

Jun waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, you'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Her tone was still casual but Azusa could sense the anxiety bubbling just below the surface. She was planning something. Azusa was certain of it.

" _Alright…?_ It's just that I really don't—"

 _"I want you there."_

Azusa blinked, suddenly cut off by Ui who looked at her meaningfully.

"I want to spend it with you, Azusa," Ui said, eyes twinkling. _"Stay with us."_

Azusa blankly returned Ui's look, mouth parted. There was an underlying tension to Ui's words—like it was vitally important that Azusa be with her at that time. Her eyes darted to Jun who cocked her head and smiled hopefully. There was the sense that it was just as important to Jun as it was to Ui.

Azusa's gaze returned to her food. "I guess I'm third-wheeling," she muttered.

She had a guess as to what they were planning. If she was right—and she was fairly confident that she was—then maybe she'd have a natural opening to bring up her epiphany from earlier. If not, then… well… she wasn't about to say no to spending more time with the people she loved.

* * *

 _ **15:06**_

"We don't have to be there until five so we can probably still practice. I've got cleaning duty today, though. Go on ahead. I'll meet you at the clubroom."

Azusa sighed as she and Ui left Jun with their other classmates on cleaning duty.

While it was nice that they had some free time, Azusa very much doubted they'd be able to do much that day. They still needed to go home and change before meeting back up at the festival grounds. At most, they'd have an hour and a half to work with. With their club's propensity for goofing off, their practice time would be spent talking over tea and pastries instead of actually practicing.

"I have half a mind just cancelling the club meeting today," Azusa muttered. "Nao deserves a break, anyway. She's been making tweaks to the song all week."

"I'm sure they'd appreciate the chance to go to the festival," Ui replied.

The club room was already occupied when they reached it. Nao was at the table, playing a simple percussion loop on her laptop. Sumire sat at the other side, bouncing her feet on the floor and tapping her drumsticks on a textbook in time with the loop.

Sumire was too focused on maintaining her rhythm to say anything but Nao greeted them with a quick glance and bow. "Good afternoon, senpai," she said before returning her attention to her laptop screen. "Where is Jun-senpai?"

"Cleaning duty," Azusa replied curtly. She set down her bag, unzipped her guitar, and plugged it into the nearest amplifier. "Keep playing," she ordered.

She then started playing random guitar riffs, experimenting with what would sound good with the beat Nao and Sumire were playing. Ui took her own guitar and started doing the same, harmonizing with Azusa at first before switching up her notes and timings. Within a minute, they had two different riffs that complimented each other.

"We doin' improv?" Jun asked with a grin upon entering the room. She quickly moved to sling her bass over her shoulder. "Sorry I'm late. Cleaning duty took longer than expected."

"It's fine, Jun," Ui said reassuringly.

"Yeah," Azusa agreed. "Now less apologizing, more playing. We need a bassline."

Jun laughed and started strumming. She had something workable in no time at all.

Azusa shared looks with the other members of the club. That strange contented happiness from earlier started welling up inside her again. Nao had started adding little musical flourishes to their melody with synthetic instruments and sound samples. Sumire had gotten used to the rhythm enough that she no longer needed Nao's percussion track to keep her in time. Jun and Ui had always been competent but their playing now was completely in synch with each other. The Wakaba Girls' sound was so full and consistent. It was… _uncanny…_

"Maybe I _am_ a superstar…" Jun mumbled at the very end of their apparent new song.

Azusa eyed her with a raised brow. "Thought of lyrics already?

Jun scratched her cheek. "I have some ideas, I guess…?"

"Wonderful work, students," a new voice said from the table. The girls all jumped in surprise upon realizing Sawako was in the room. Again, she showed up without any of them noticing. How did she keep doing that? "That was quite the jazzy piece—and delightfully playful. I'm impressed."

"So am I," Azusa breathed, almost not believing how much they'd gotted done in less than half an hour. "I think we finally have our fourth original song…"

"So you do," Sawako quipped, a proud bright smile glowing on her face. "Can we have tea and snacks now?" she then asked, the expression on her face not changing in the slightest.

Azusa stared at her teacher for a moment. "Pfft—" she failed to suppress a laugh. "Yes, sensei. We can have tea and snacks now."

They all sat at the table while Sumire served them drinks. Azusa stood at the head of the table and addressed the club's members.

"So, I was going to announce that we wouldn't be having a club meeting today because Jun, Ui, and I have prior engagements."

"Tanabata?" Sumire asked, cocking her head.

"Yup. We're helping Jun's father run a food stall. Anyway, we still ended up having a meeting anyway because I saw an opportunity to get something done today and took it. Obviously it ended up being worth it."

"We still do not have a name for the new song," Nao commented, eyes not leaving her laptop screen.

"Tentative name: _Superstar_. Courtesy of Jun."

"Noted." Nao began typing.

" _Midnight_ Superstar," Jun added quickly. Nao did not reply but kept typing. Azusa raised an eyebrow and Jun shrugged. "What? I think it sounds better than _just_ Superstar."

Azusa shrugged back. "If you say so. Just make sure the lyrics fit." She returned her attention to the rest of the club. "But yeah. We'll be at the Toyosato festival grounds at five. We'll be near the western edge, manning a food stall. If you guys are going, hope to see you there. If not, see you here tomorrow for practice. Any questions?" She looked around, waiting for someone to raise any issues. "No? Well then, meeting adjourned."

* * *

 _ **17:13**_

Azusa tapped her foot with mild impatience. She and Ui had arrived at the shrine at exactly five in the afternoon and had messaged Jun informing her that they were waiting for her to show up. Thirteen minutes later, they were _still_ waiting.

"Still no reply," Azusa said with a sigh as she checked her phone for the fifth time in so many minutes. "Tell me if I'm just being paranoid but I think Jun's ditched us."

Ui smiled. "I think you're being paranoid."

Truthfully, Azusa didn't _really_ think Jun would ditch them—it didn't seem like her style—but there was still that niggling bit of doubt in the pit of her stomach. And despite the smile, Azusa could tell that Ui had those same doubts as well.

Eventually, Azusa suggested that they just make for the Suzuki food stall and wait for Jun there. Ui was quick to agree and looked genuinely relieved to be doing something other than wait around.

It took only a minute for them to find Jun's brother and what they assumed was their food stall. It was little more than an empty patch of grass with a pile boxes and folded furniture. Atsushi was too focused on setting up the tent to spare them anything more than a glance but he at least smiled in that brief moment of eye contact.

"Good afternoon, girls," he greeted curtly.

"Good afternoon," Azusa greeted back. "Do you know where Jun is? She told us to be at the front of the shrine at five. She hasn't shown up yet."

"She's with dad. They're bringing the food and display oven." Atsushi stopped for a moment and frowned. "Though, they _are_ running a little late." He then shrugged. "But if they get here before nightfall, it doesn't really matter how late they are. I wouldn't worry about it."

Azusa looked to Ui and exchanged nods. She then turned back to Atsushi. "Any way we can help right now?"

Atsushi gestured to the tarpaulin he was currently fastening to a metal pole. "Hold it steady, will you?"

With their combined efforts, they managed to erect the tent with minimal embarrassment—well, minimal for Azusa and Ui. There were two failed attempts and one of them had ended with the tent collapsing over Atsushi. He'd practically begged the two not to tell anyone about why he had little cuts and bruises all over him. It was a bit of a shame they agreed—Jun would have found the story hilarious.

"I've been wondering," Atsushi began as they sat behind the counter of their newly set-up food stall. "You're dating Jun, right?"

Ui fidgeted in her seat before nodding nervously. Azusa eyed the two with a curious quick of her brow, resting her chin on her palm.

"Does she ever talk about me?" he asked.

Ui's brows went up. Azusa's went up higher. They shared a confused look, thinking the same thing as the other: Where was he going with this?

"Not often," Ui replied after a bit of thought. "The week of her birthday was probably the most she's ever talked about you. I don't think you come up naturally in everyday conversations."

Atsushi sighed tiredly. "I'm not surprised but somehow I'm still disappointed."

"Why?"

"Because she likes talking about you two."

Ui's face flushed as she averted her eyes. "Is that so…?"

Azusa cocked her head. "Does she talk about us a lot?"

He rolled his eyes, slumping forward on the countertop. "She hasn't talked about anything else in the last two months. It's always about you two—or else, somehow related to you two."

Ui found it in her to giggle despite how she couldn't bring herself to look at Atsushi. "Reminds me a bit of you, Azusa. You used to always be talking about your senpai at the light music club."

"Exactly!" Atsushi exclaimed, sitting up. "It's always _'light music club'_ this, _'Azusa and Ui'_ that. We could be talking about anything— _anything at all_ —and somehow she'd segue into talking about you two. Did you know she still wonders why I wasn't surprised when she said she was dating you? I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't have the heart to admit that she couldn't've been more obvious."

Ui fidgeted once more. Azusa found herself doing the same. She could definitely understand where Atsushi was coming from. While cute, Jun and Ui's frequent exchange of meaningful looks and occasional touching of hands under the table had the subtlety of a brick to the face. And she couldn't help but wonder if she herself had that same lack of subtlety. That Ui said Jun's behavior reminded her of Azusa's made it all the more likely. It brought into question whether or not they already knew her secret and if _their parents_ already knew. The two already knowing would make things easier, if more embarrassing, but _their parents_ knowing would be kind of—

She shook her head to expel those thoughts. She'd freak out if she continued that train of thought. They needed to talk about something else. _Anything_ else.

"Jun still doesn't think your parents know," Ui muttered, thankfully sparing Azusa from thinking up a different topic.

"That's because you won't tell her," Azusa teased, hiding her overwhelming relief with a mask of dry snark. She could tell Ui saw straight through it, though—not that she would ever call Azusa out on it. Oh, such angelic tact.

"I know it's partly my fault but you won't tell her either," Ui countered weakly, a token defense for the soul purpose of further pushing the previous topic out of mind. If only the current topic was a little more different so that shutting it out was easier.

"Don't worry about it. _They_ know she doesn't," Atsushi said with a mischievous chuckle. "We've actually got a betting pool running about how and when she'll tell them. I've got my money on her blurting it out some time this summer. Mom's playing the long game and bet that it'll be weeks after summer ends."

Azusa's mind immediately came to a standstill for a full second at the thought of Mamiko Suzuki placing bets on her own daughter. "Um… Isn't gambling illegal?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey, it's just a simple wager between family members. Nothing illegal about that."

"Maybe not but I do think it's a little bit mean," Ui said with a pout. "Wouldn't that hurt her feelings?"

Atsushi shrugged. "Eh, she'll be fine. If she had the nerve to bet I'd never get a girlfriend before the end of highschool then she should be able to handle a bet like this."

The two raised their eyebrows in surprise. "She really did that?"

"Yeah. And got ten thousand yen for her troubles. Took me forever to save up that much money. I was so confident I'd win, too."

 _"Ten thousand,"_ Azusa repeated, calculating how many days' worth of allowance that was.

"For the record, the current betting pool is at _fifty_ thousand yen."

"Fifty…" Azusa trailed off, feeling the definite allure of nearly three months' worth of allowance. "Could _I_ maybe…?"

Atsushi grinned. Ui frowned. "Azusa, are you seriously planning on making a wager?" she asked sternly, crossing her arms.

"Lighten up, Hirasawa," Atsushi said airily, waving a dismissive hand. "You two are pretty much family at this point. Might as well participate in a little family bonding, eh?"

"Yeah, Ui. Didn't you say those exact words to Mrs. Suzuki two weeks ago?"

Ui's blush was the rosiest it's been all day. "I said we're family, yes, but _this isn't what I meant!_ Come on. Stop it, _please._ "

Atsushi's grin widened and he turned to Azusa. "Wanna bet she eventually makes a bet?"

 _"Stoooop~!"_

Azusa suddenly found herself bursting into laughter.

 _"Azusaaa~!?"_ Ui whined, tugging at Azusa's shoulder. "What are you even laughing at?"

"I'm sorry," Azusa gasped between fits of giggles. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just—" She devolved into soundless chuckling once more. She could already hear the blood pumping through her head. Her face must've been so red. "He's just so… similar to her…"

"Azusa…?"

"Okay, okay, I think I'm good," she wheezed. "Just lemme' take a breath… Heh—god… Heheh… oh god…"

Ui pouted. "Are you done?"

Azusa chuckled again but it nothing more than a single jerk of her shoulders. "Right, I'm done. I'm done. Sorry."

"You were saying?"

"What _was_ I saying?" She thought for a bit before snapping her fingers. "Oh right! Did you notice? Atsushi here is really similar to Jun but different enough in just the right ways that Jun would be absolutely infuriated with him."

Ui stared in confusion. "I don't…" She cocked her head at Atsushi and, after a brief moment contemplation, smiled. "Actually… I think I can see that…"

Atsushi stared at the two like they were speaking an entirely different language. "Okay, you're gonna have to run that by me again. Me and Jun are _what_ now?"

Both Azusa and Ui burst into laughter.

"Okay, you were right. This is uncanny."

"They're really brother and sister, aren't they?"

"Ladies, _please_. I can't understand what you're saying."

Eventually, the laughter died down and Jun arrived with her father. They resumed setting up the food stall, trying their hardest not to let slip what had transpired while the father-daughter duo were in-transit—Jun could learn about that later. By nightfall, the festival went into full swing and the customers came trickling in. The girls quickly got to work.

* * *

 _ **End of Chapter**_

* * *

 **I'm starting to notice a pattern with my June-marathon releases because this is the second time my third chapter released a day or so late. Assuming I still follow the pattern, my next chapter will end up releasing first week of July. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that. Until next chapter, then!**


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